Food in Kid’s Ministry

When I was a kid, morning tea at Children’s Church was a plastic cup of orange cordial, and two biscuits selected from the tray of a Family Pack.  Those days are gone.

Serving food in your Kid’s Ministry can be a problem.  Allergy and Anaphylaxis Australia says food allergies are estimated to affect 4-8% of children under the age of 5 years. Triggers are commonly egg, peanuts, tree nuts and cow’s milk, but there are 170 foods known to have caused a reaction.  Hospital emergency departments are reporting an increase in children with severe reactions.

But for most Kid’s Ministries there will be times when you’ll want to have games, crafts, and special events that involve food.  A breakfast program, a Minute to Win It game, icing and decorating biscuits as a Christmas craft.  A lesson on ‘Daniel’s Diet’ with a fruit platter to share.  A cooking session at a School Holiday Program.  Popcorn for a Movie Night.  A picnic for the Bible Story ‘Jesus feeds the 5000’.  The Chocolate Game!

So, what can you do to minimize the risk?

• Know your kids. Communicate with parents and ask for information on allergies and keep your records up to date.
• Set Food Policies in place and provide instruction for  your leaders and volunteers.
• Train your volunteers to be extra watchful and attentive whenever food is involved. Children won’t always regulate their own diet and toddlers will take food from someone else.
• Volunteers who don’t know if a child has allergies or not should err on the side of caution and not offer anything until they’ve checked.
• Consider a red wristband for those children with a severe allergic reaction. Volunteers will know at a glance the child has an allergy.  A red name tag, or a name tag with a red dot is certainly advisable for all children with allergies.
• You must have a leader or volunteer trained in First Aid and use of an auto-injector.
• Make your clean-up of plates, cutlery, table tops, chairs and floors thorough.

What about lollies?

Kids love them and lollies make great incentives or rewards.  But sugar can be a problem for some children and parents are not happy about taking home a child on a sugar high.  Once again, communication with parents is key.  You may need a sticker or point rewards system instead.

What are the options?

More and more Kid’s Ministries are running a program without food because avoidance is the only way to totally prevent an allergic reaction.  If your Church service times are short this might be an option for you.  There will be more money in your budget for other things.

But some leaders say sitting with kids, chatting as they eat and drink together, is a precious time.  Kid’s open up and it’s another opportunity for some Holy Spirit guided ministry.

Anyway, food for thought.