MISSOULA, Mont.—Missoula County Public Schools have changed their allergy procedures and are working on educating all staff members and parents so everyone is more aware about food allergies and how to handle them.
Lunch time, a time when kids get to hang out with their friends and take a break from classroom studies, but with the increase in food allergies teachers and staff members need to be more aware of what kids are bringing to lunch.
One out of seven students has a food allergy. It can be so dangerous they monitor where some children sit.
"Children are felt to be at risk if they are sitting near someone else having peanut butter, for instance, that parent may say I want my child to be at a peanut, an allergen sensitive table," said Missoula County Public Schools Health Supervisor Linda Simon.
What this means, is a child who is severely allergic to peanut butter will be sitting at a table with children who don't have any peanut butter products. That's just one of the new procedures MCPS has implemented.
Simon explains that they are trying to do the same thing in classrooms, especially where the children are younger.
"We've been doing, where we try to limit the allergen for that child coming in to the classroom," said Simon.
But the school won't ban the foods kids are most commonly allergic to. Instead, they'll limit the amount allowed in.
But just in case a student gets what they shouldn't and has a reaction, staff members know how to react.