Stoney Creek Public School sent a letter home to parents detailing various foods that are restricted from a classroom. Some were because students have anaphylactic allergies, and then a couple are for religious reasons. I read the letter and then my brain up and exploded.
It is so difficult to garner sympathy from parents regarding food restrictions and allergies without adding this to the mix, don't you think? If there's a serious allergy in the classroom, restricting the food is a matter of life and death, but when it's religious, isn't that taking things a little too far? Nobody is going to force-feed the child who cannot eat fish for religious reasons. Here's the letter:
What next? No mushrooms because my kid doesn't like them? No egg salad because it smells like farts? No meat because little Megan is vegan?
Parents of students at the school demanded answers, and according to a local radio station, the board issued this statement:
“A letter distributed yesterday to parents of your child’s class – intended only to increase awareness of food allergies among our students – incorrectly listed a student’s food preference based on religious reasons.
That information should not have been listed on the letter and does not reflect TVDSB practices or policies.
We respect individual families’ food choices based on personal or religious preferences, but the letter was intended to raise awareness of food allergies only as they impact others in the classroom.
We apologize for this error.
We thank parents for your cooperation in restricting foods that have been associated with identified allergies among students in our classrooms.”
Ooooops! I'm guessing there's a whole lotta backpedaling happening there this week.
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