Peanut Policy

The Melvin J. Berman Hebrew Academy has been a peanut-free facility since August 27, 2008.

As many of you know, nut allergies are on the rise in America and have been the subject of many articles and news reports. As these allergies can be life threatening, it is our halakhic and moral responsibility to ensure a safe environment for these students to the best of our ability. Many other schools in this area and throughout the country have already adopted peanut-free policies.

There is no way to guarantee a peanut-free environment. If your child has a severe peanut allergy, s/he must continue to be vigilant about what s/he eats and from whom s/he accepts food. Nonetheless, a peanut-free policy will provide an extra buffer against accidental ingestion of peanuts or peanut-products by children who may be deathly allergic.

Peanut allergies tend to be more severe than allergies for tree-nuts, and as of now, we are adopting only a peanut-free policy. Peanut products such as peanut butter, Bamba, nut granola bars, Reese’s candies, and the like will no longer be allowed in the school. This includes lunches, snacks, in-school birthday parties or food brought on field trips.

For many of you, this new policy will present a considerable inconvenience, and for that I apologize. Nonetheless, I am sure that you agree that doing our best to prevent severe accidents justifies the added inconvenience.

Thank you for helping us implement this new policy. All of our children are our priority and we hope to create a safe atmosphere for all.