What do we do with snacktime in children’s ministry when there are so many food allergies with kids?
It’s a real issue and one we need to grapple with. I remember one of my fondest memories as a kid at church was eating an orange pushup at a VBS–regardless of the fact that we were standing on hot pavement for snack time. And now, it makes me sad in my 2-year-old class when little ones say to me “I hungy” and I have to say that we’re not allowed to give them snacks anymore. Is this what we’ve come to?
We asked children’s ministers on our poll at www.childrensministry.com how they handle allergy policies. Here are the top three ways they do it:
1. We rely on parents to inform us if there are any allergies we need to know about (79%).
2. We provide food but post the ingredients and make sure parents alert us to allergies (16%).
3. We don’t allow any food in our programs (5%).
The fourth option was “We allow kids to bring their own food, but don’t provide any.” (This is actually what our church does.)
So how does your church handle food allergies in your children’s ministry? Post to help us all grapple with this issue.
