Camillus (WSYR-TV) -- If you’re not packing a lunch for your son or daughter, figuring out what’s in the food your child is getting at school can be difficult.
One West Genesse mother – whose son has diabetes – says because of new Federal guidelines for school lunches, her son’s health was impacted.
Back in 2009, Justin Henson was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. Since then, an insulin pump has become his lifeline. It gives him the energy he needs to simply make it through each day.
Because of his condition, his parents have to keep track of everything he eats, paying close attention to carbs. So when the school year started, the first thing they looked for was a sheet detailing how many carbs were in each meal.
“We have to do carb counts so we have to know how much insulin to give him and I didn’t have some of the carb counts on the sheet,” Erica Henson said.
That’s because the new Federal school lunch guidelines include different serving sizes, carbs and calorie counts and districts like West Genesee had to wait on adjustments made by vendors in order to give accurate information to parents.
“What we try to do is make sure we’re matching all of our calorie counts and carb counts to food we’re actually serving and the reason it was a challenge in the beginning of the school year, I would say the first two days, is because the vendors were still adjusting what they had provided to schools,” said West Genesee Superintendent Christopher Brown.
They have since provided parents with the new list, with updated serving sizes and carb counts.
“We feel it’s important to provide the information because we feel every child in this district is like our own child and we take care of them as such,” Brown said.
Justin’s mom hopes their story makes other parents aware of the new Federal guidelines and the impact on their child’s health.
