Glen Ellyn Elementary District 41 has adopted new procedures meant to promote nutrition and protect students with food allergies.

One prime change will keep food out of classroom celebrations and birthday parties during the school day, “ensuring all kids can participate,” Superintendent Paul Gordon said. The district also is suggesting parents pack healthy snacks for their kids when they begin the new school year later this month.

“It’s really about creating that healthy, safe environment for all of our students,” Gordon said Thursday.

A student wellness committee that included parents, teachers, nurses and administrators shaped the procedures, and the school board approved them this week. Implementing the guidelines will involve a “culture shift,” Gordon said, so the district has launched a new food and nutrition website to help parents navigate its policies.

School districts have been developing safeguards in response to a rising number of kids with food allergies. The condition affects about 2 percent of adults and 4 to 8 percent of children in the United States, according to the FDA.

In District 41, teachers cannot reward students with food. If educators want to use food as an instructional tool, they must first fill out an exemption form and secure the approval of their principal.

Letters also must be sent to parents allowing their child to opt out of the activity and notifying them about what foods will be used. After the lesson, surfaces have to be cleaned to remove potential allergens as part of protocols outlined in an existing food allergy management program.

Organizers of special events during the school day in which students are not joined by their parents also have to adhere to similar steps in order to serve food.

For events attended by parents after school, the district recommends that organizers offer food that meets the U.S. Department of Agriculture Smart Snacks in School guidelines. They also are encouraged to provide options that are “allergen-safe,” or don’t contain peanuts, tree nuts, soy, milk, egg, fish, shellfish or wheat.

The district’s new website links to a Smart Snacks “ calculator ” where parents can type in information from nutritional labels to see whether the items comply with the USDA standards.

“The district strongly suggests parents and guardians pack fruit, veggies and water for their child’s snacks,” Gordon recently told the school board.

What happens if a kid brings, say, a bag of potato chips?

Teachers won’t police the recommendations, but will be “having more thoughtful conversations with that parent over time to say there are different choices,” Gordon said.

With the adoption of the procedures, Gordon says he’s already heard from relieved parents of kids who have severe allergies.