Food Allergies and Intolerances Case Study – Sherbrooke Family and Children’s Care

[Text displayed on screen] Practical examples of managing food allergies, intolerances and other dietary requirements, Case study – Sherbrooke Family and Children’s Centre

My name is Lorraine and I’m the center cook for Sherbrook Family and Children Centre in Upway.

[Text displayed on screen] Lorraine Jones, Child Care Centre Cook, Sherbrooke Family and Children’s Centre

I’ve worked here for 18 months now. We provide food for between 60 to 120 children each day, including breakfast, lunch, morning and afternoon tea, and late snack.

[Text displayed on screen] The Menu Planning Process

I usually start my list of recipes and separate the meals into cream-based, tomato-based, and stir-fry. I’ll then list down all the children with food allergies and other dietary requirements, and also the days of the week these children are attending. This helps me to decide which meals to cook on certain days.

We have an allergen matrix for all foods and standard recipes, and we use this in our service. I also use the Victorian Government menu planning guidelines to make sure I’m still providing a variety of nutritious food and suitable alternatives for all children throughout each week.

From here, I can then start to create my menu. I’ll use those base recipes and then add different proteins to create a different meal for each day of the week.

[Text displayed on screen] Managing Food Allergies

The types of food allergies we need to cater for change each year. Some children with food allergies leave the service or they grow out of their allergy. We may have new children starting who have a food allergy we’ve not had to cater for before.

We currently have children attending who are allergic to dairy, soy, eggs, and peanuts. We don’t include peanuts in our menu, which hasn’t been an issue for our menu planning. We make sure we ask parents for specific details of their child’s allergy, which is documented and signed by the parents and reviewed at the start of every year. Parents also provide the service with ASCIA action plans for allergy to help plan meals.

We use a food allergy record, which lists all of a child’s food allergies. If a child is allergic to milk, I can find a nutritious replacement for milk or yogurt using the allergy resources on the Healthy Eating Advisory Service website. I check with the parents that these replacements are okay to use for their child.

On a day when we have children with cow’s milk and soy milk allergies attending, I use oat milk as an alternative. I also make sure I use the one which is fortified with calcium. I’ll generally use a recipe which is tomato-based too, which doesn’t require any dairy.

[Text displayed on screen] Managing Multiple Food Allergies and Dietary Requirements

We have some children attending who have coeliac disease. I make a note of these children and the days they are attending when creating the menu. On the days when children with coeliac disease attend, I use gluten-free products or swap out pasta for rice or rice noodles. I will do the same for all children, not just the children with coeliac disease. This means I’m not having to make separate meals.

Some days when we need to cater for multiple allergies, our menu might be all gluten-free, using alternatives to normal dairy milk products or using a recipe such as a stir-fry, which is meat-based. I can still provide cow’s milk to children who do not have an allergy to cow’s milk at another time in the day, such as a cup of milk with afternoon tea.

[Text displayed on screen] Advice for Other Cooks Working in Long Day Care

Personally, what is most helpful is getting everyone at the centre to work together and be accountable for food allergies. It’s important we work together as a team. Everyone at the centre completes their training on food allergies every year. We use the ‘All About Allergens’ online food training course.

If a child is allergic to cow’s milk, we make sure we’re aware of all the food which contains cow’s milk and cannot be served to the child.

The educators are also involved in checking the food before it is served to the children to ensure they aren’t served any food they are allergic to. They will sign a handover of the meal and check the ingredients on the menu each day. The educators then double-check with the cook that the right food is being given to the right child.

Regular communication with parents and educators is helpful for food wastage too. I really appreciate it when educators let me know straight away when a child is not attending or they’re coming in on a different day. I can then make some early changes to the amount of food I’m preparing for the day. I don’t want to make too many portions as this gets wasted.

Same with food allergies—sometimes the alternatives are a bit more expensive. If I no longer need to account for a particular allergy, it’s good to know this so I don’t need to order the more expensive product.

[Text displayed on screen] With special thanks to Lorraine Jones, Sherbrooke Family & Children’s Centre