WOWBUTTER at School: Frequently asked Questions
and Answers for Schools and School Boards

Why do we need WOWBUTTER at school?

Parents and caregivers are frustrated when peanut butter is banned without a replacement being offered. As a result, in many cases the nutrition needs of their child are not being met. It is a struggle to find simple, convenient, inexpensive healthy foods for lunches that their kids like. Lunches come back home uneaten because their child won't eat what is sent. The nutrition needs of all kids are not being recognized and addressed!

WOWBUTTER helps solve this difficult lunch nutrition problem that has risen from the necessary peanut free policies implemented by socially responsible Schools. Moms and dads no longer have to struggle with what to pack in their kids' lunch box.  Many kids do not like sandwich meats or hummus spreads, which results in limited options for protein sources. WOWBUTTER provides the necessary high quality protein needed for school lunches to ensure children are receiving proper nutrition, is quick and convenient to make and kids love it!

What's in school lunches now?

Our research shows that realistically, most schools have little idea about the contents of school lunches, nor can they in most cases.  It would be completely naive to think that all school lunches are peanut and nut free and healthy with the current lunch environment.

We have heard countless stories from parents regarding the continued use of peanuts and nut products in lunches at peanut and nut free schools.  Some parents knowingly send product containing peanut butter due to the lack of school support for peanut butter replacements and some parents unknowingly send them because they do not take the time to properly read labels.  This was further verified by a recent lunch box study by a dietician in the Toronto area.   Besides the overall general poor nutrition of the lunches:

Many were packed with poor food and drink choices such as cold hot dogs, gummy treats, sugary fruit beverages and packaged cookies; the dietician also discovered that:

"Despite the ban on peanuts in the schools because of allergies, peanut butter cookies and other foods containing nuts were found as well"

Schools and boards can only recommend that parents not send certain food products to school for the safety of those allergic but would never be able to eliminate all risks with this method.  A banning of foods approach by a school and/or school board is not very effective because it does not address the needs of all students.  The three main problems that occur as a result of peanut allergy policies are: lack of school support for socially responsible parents who support the allergy needs of allergic students while addressing the nutrition needs of their own children, lack of educating the importance of properly reading food labels to parents and students and the importance of labelling unknown foods brought from home. 

The bottom line: the needs of all 3 food groups are not currently being addressed which reduces the effectiveness of peantu free policies. Allergic students need the support and co-operation from everyone for a safe peanut free school, schools need assurance of compliance with peanut free lunch requirements and non-allergic kids and parents need access to safe, nutritious peanut free foods such as WOWBUTTER.

What does the School Boards Association recommend?

The association does not encourage the banning of food products, rather they encourage the education and awareness about allergies as a more important and better option because both allergic and non-allergic people must coincide in society both inside and outside of the school environment. 

The handbook, "Anaphylaxis: A Handbook for School Boards" states:

"In fact, experience suggests that the outright banning of any substance is not only controversial, but it is also less successful than cultivating understanding and enlisting the voluntary support of members of the school community."

A better approach is to stress the importance of reading labels, identifying unknown foods from home and to educate and encourage parents and students to source and select nutritious and safe lunch alternatives and that's exactly what parents are doing with WOWBUTTER!

What is WOWBUTTER?

WOWBUTTER was designed and developed as a peanut butter replacement to provide the necessary protein and nutrition that all kids need, while providing a safe school environment to those allergic. It provides a 100% peanut free school lunch solution for the traditional school lunch staple, the peanut butter sandwich.  WOWBUTTER is a safe and nutritious new food staple that is 100% Peanut & Nut Free and is supported with an accompanying School Lunch Procedure for lunch identification.

WOWBUTTER with the accompanying School Lunch Procedure is the only product available that addresses the needs of allergic kids, non-allergic kids and schools all at the same time.  Every effort has been made to assure the safety of peanut allergic kids, the compliance of school peanut free policies and the lunch nutrition needs and taste demands of non-allergic kids.

How can a school determine the contents of a lunch?

Informed parents are following the School Lunch Procedure detailed online when sending WOWBUTTER to school.  Voluntary support of a school peanut and nut free policy increases with the use of WOWBUTTER and the accompanying Safe-for-School lunch identification labelling system.  An identified and labelled lunch is the only truly safe lunch in the school.  It is being discovered by schools that the common sense approach of lunch identification of unknown foods made at home in conjunction with WOWBUTTER results in a more educated, united, safer and healthier school.  Give parents the resources to make the responsible decision to pack a nutritious peanut and nut free lunch that their kids will eat and protect the safety of allergic kids at the same time and they will.

LUNCH IDENTIFICATION STICKERS ARE NOW INCLUDED WITH EVERY JAR OF WOWBUTTER for easy access by parents and easy WOWBUTTER lunch identification by schools!

How do we make sure everyone knows what to do?

It's not complicated, many schools have already done it:  a simple statement or letter from a school or school board to parents indicating that:  If you wish to send WOWBUTTER to school as a nutritious and safe peanut butter replacement, the lunch must be identified and labelled using the Safe-for-School labels that are INCLUDED WITH EVERY JAR.  All lunch identification stickers are the same and everyone will then know what is expected of them.  Information brochures available for printing online provide all the information that a parent will need about WOWBUTTER and where to review the School Lunch Procedure.

If the schools support the parents on this issue, the parents will support the schools.  The labelling requirements are outlined as part of our School Lunch Procedure detailed online and included as part of the "terms of use" attached to the Safe-for-School labels.  

Read our full SCHOOL LUNCH PROCEDURE online at www.Safe4SchoolProcedure.com 

What awareness support for WOWBUTTER is being provided for schools?

WOWBUTTER is the solution to an existing problem that has not previously been satisfactorily solved and continues to cause various school lunch issues. Increasingly being recognized as the only good and acceptable solution that satisfies the needs of all kids, HUNDREDS of schools have already requested and sent home ½ oz WOWBUTTER samples and information brochures as an awareness initiative for parents. The number of schools requesting samples and information continues to increase. These samples and information are provided FREE of charge by WOWBUTTER Foods for every child in the school and can be requested by each school directly from the WOWBUTTER.com website. This informs all parents aboput WOWBUTTER, it's safety and benefits and directs them to the necessary procedures required for sending WOWBUTTER to school and finally provides a school lunch solution.

Click here to request samples for your school.

The response to samples already sent home by schools has been very positive: "Many parents have appreciated the sample that we sent home and making them aware that this product is available. The kids really enjoy the WOW Butter and so do the parents. We have had no negative responses."

What happens when a school or school board does not recommend parents use WOWBUTTER in school lunches?

Some school boards and/or schools initially decide against the use of WOWBUTTER without knowing all the facts and the supporting procedures implemented for sending WOWBUTTER to school resulting in little consideration for all school families.  We receive letters like the following, one of many from very upset and frustrated parents, when a school does not initially support the use of WOWBUTTER:

As one parent stated: "First, I would like to thank you for your wonderful peanut free products.  They taste great and my daughter, who is not allergic to peanuts, but who is very conscious of her fellow students allergies, loves them.  I am very upset with the narrow mindedness of my daughter's school with regard to their ignorance of the progress being made to bridge the gap between allergic and non allergic students in order to provide a safer, more united and happier environment for all children."

Another one pleaded for help:  "My son is forced to eat butter sandwiches — please help me!!"

Parents with allergic children also desperately want to improve the school environment as one states: "With much resistance from parents, both of my twin daughters classes have been distinguished "peanut free" in honor of their peanut allergies.  We are really struggling to get them to accept this, and are looking for ways to promote a safe environment for my girls.  I would love to be able to purchase enough samples of WowButter to send home with each child in both classes."

We receive letters of support daily from consumers who reiterate their need for WOWBUTTER, realize that it is the only available peanut butter replacement that meets the taste, texture and nutrition needs of kids and appreciate the support we provide for safely sending it to school.   Without WOWBUTTER, they are concerned that the nutrition needs of their child will continue not to be met. These parents struggle to find convenient foods for lunches and many times the lunches come back home uneaten because their child will not eat many types of foods.  WOWBUTTER is providing new hope to many parents for a better tasting more nutritious school lunch that their kids love!

LUNCH IDENTIFICATION STICKERS ARE NOW INCLUDED WITH EVERY JAR OF WOWBUTTER for easy access by parents and easy identification of a WOWBUTTER lunch by schools! These new stickers eliminate the concern of not being able to identify the contents of the school lunch.

If WOWBUTTER is not recommended in your school, then realistically all foods from home need to be banned.  The school cannot possibly have any idea what's in school lunches otherwise and the potential for hidden allergens in an unidentified, unlabeled lunch are extremely high. This is proven as noted above in a recent lunch box study in the Toronto, Ontario area.  Hidden allergens are a much bigger problem for the school and one that most schools haven't even considered addressing.  An identified and labelled lunch containing WOWBUTTER is the safest lunch in the school and something that should be embraced as many other schools have done.

What else can a school do to improve the learning environment?

The very purpose of schools is to educate kids.  Students must learn how to make responsible, accountable decisions that respect the safety of their fellow students at school and in society. It is important to educate them about the potential dangers of allergies and how to determine the difference between safe and unsafe foods by reading labels so that they can make the responsible decision to recognize and help protect those with life threatening allergies.  Encouraging a learning environment on this topic has far reaching benefits for all of society.

Promoting awareness and cooperation for a better, safer society both inside and outside of the school environment should be the number one priority.  Everyone must be reminded to carefully read food labels, as it's the only thing you can rely on.  Labelling laws have been improved for this reason and are strictly enforced by the CFIA to ensure that everyone knows the contents of the food they consume. WOWBUTTER meets the "Healthy Foods For Healthy Schools Act" criteria and provides essential high quality protein and other nutrients for school lunches.