Sample Letter

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Many schools choose to send a letter home with students to notify their parents of a classmate who has food allergies, and to outline the school’s policy for managing food allergies. Below is just a sample of one such letter. Feel free to use this information and to customize the letter with information specific to your school.

Dear Parents:

A student in your child’s class has a food allergy to [insert allergen].

As many as 15 million Americans have food allergies, including an approximately 6 million children. Food allergies can be potentially fatal, and there is no cure. The only way to avoid a reaction is to avoid the offending food.

We know that many parents like to celebrate birthdays and other occasions with special treats. We encourage parents to celebrate with non-food items such as stickers, pencils, themed erasers, or other trinkets, rather than food. Any food sent in to share with students should be pre-packaged and contain an ingredient label. Please give these items to your child’s teacher for distribution.

Please instruct your child to not share food with other classmates unless a teacher gives approval to do so.

We plan to provide a session with parents where we can educate everyone on how we manage food allergies to keep our students safe. We encourage you to join us at the session.

To learn more about food allergies, you may visit the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network’s website, www.foodallergy.org.

Thanks in advance for your cooperation. We look forward to a great school year!

Sincerely,

Principal