Wildrose blasts government over ‘snack shaming’

Autistic student made to leave classroom because his snack was deemed unhealthy

CALGARY Alberta’s Wildrose Opposition lashed out at the province Tuesday for not cracking down on schools that impose snack bans, particularly on kids with special needs.

Calgary’s public school board came under fire this week after Postmedia revealed a six-yearold autistic boy was banished from his classroom because his mother had packed him a slice of banana bread for a snack. According to the mom, whom Postmedia has agreed not to identify to ensure he’s not punished, the school insisted only fresh fruits or vegetables were appropriate for snacks.

The incident seemingly breaches the Calgary Board of Education’s own nutritional policy, which states that while only “healthy” food and beverages will be sold or provided by schools, lunches and snacks sent from home are up to the parents.

Wildrose education critic Leela Aheer took aim at Health Minister David Eggen in the legislature Tuesday, questioning how the snack attack was even allowed to happen.

“Teaching proper nutritional choices is essential; however, this should not be done in a way that snack shames children. Is this snack shaming part of the curriculum?” Aheer said.

“Given,” she said, “that parents are feeling the impact of authoritarian behaviour run amok over snacks, and given parents know what their children will eat and will not eat and don’t need government telling them how to feed their children ... what approach should schools and boards take to encourage healthy eating in the classrooms and, more specifically, for children with special needs?”

Eggen, who on Monday released a statement saying all students should be “safe, welcome and cared for while at school,” admitted in the legislature he found the incident troubling.

“I did find it disturbing. It’s nothing to do with the curriculum, it could have been some kind of misstep in regards to whoever the responsible adult was,” he said.

“Certainly, from the reports I did receive, it was probably not the most appropriate thing to have happened, although we don’t have all the details.

“We certainly know that the general circumstance of school nutrition in our schools and with our families is very, very strong.”

But Calgary parent advocacy groups said the banana bread incident is part of a disturbing trend of schools removing parents’ ability to make choices for their children.

“At our school, they’re no longer allowed to bring any kind of treats like cupcakes for their birthdays, and we all just kind of obey,” said Althea Adams, with the Calgary Association of Parents and School Councils.

“But this is absolutely ridiculous. This child is six years old, he didn’t pack the banana bread but instead we’re punishing the child.”

Adams said she was disappointed by the response from both the CBE and the initial statement by Eggen, neither of which suggested the incident was out of bounds.

Lisa Davis with Kids Come First echoed Adams’ concern that the child was the one singled out for punishment, forced to eat away from his classmates because he brought banana bread, one of a handful of foods his mother said he will eat.

“The fact that the child is being punished for what’s essentially a decision by his parents is especially concerning,” she said.

“Even if the child, quite frankly, brought a chocolate bar, it’s inappropriate to be punished for it.

“They’ve taken something that should be fun and turned it into a major source of stress for a child who is autistic.”

The fact that the child is being punished for what’s essentially a decision by his parents is especially concerning.