Peanut Butter to Remain on Winchester Lunch Menus [Poll]

Every two years Winchester reexamines its

Over the summer, some residents brought up concerns regarding the town's LTA policy, and the formed a sub-committee to look at the problem and to see what can be done.

The main concern

“Life-threatening allergies are on the rise,” said Winchester parent, Zoe RajBhandary. “It effects eight percent of school-aged children, and peanut or nut allergies account for the majority of food-related deaths.”

However, the School Committee unanimously voted to keep peanut butter on the menu, while adding the following line to its LTA policy: “Eliminate all hidden (not easily identified) peanut/tree nut products in items served by food service in the cafeteria.”

When the new policy was unveiled over the summer, RajBhandary said that 70 percent of the towns in the area that she contacted don’t have peanut butter as an option on their lunch menu.

At the time, the School Committee decided to form a sub-committee to look at the issue, but it was determined that Winchester will keep peanut butter on the menu.

According to Superintendent William McAlduff, only about half the schools they contacted eliminated peanut butter from their menu.

“We’re trying to protect kids with nut allergies,” she said. “Winchester is the largest contributor to this risk because they serve it each and everyday.”

According to RajBhandary, she’s not asking the town to ban peanut butter from schools, but just remove it from the elementary school lunch menu. 

However, the rest of the members of the LTA sub-committee, which included Muraco Principal Laurie Kirby; Nurse Leader, Betty Britt; parents, teachers and a school committee member, did not support RajBhandary’s request to remove peanut butter.

“There was not support for this request from the majority members of the sub-committee,” McAlduff said.