As students flocked to the dining hall on their first few days at Choate, many were shocked to see there was no peanut butter, and in its place were two new additions to the spread section: soy-based Wow Butter and sunflower seed-based Sun Butter. Both Wow Butter and Sun Butter are free of peanuts and nut products, making them safe for people with severe nut allergies.
According to the SAGE website, “SAGE feels that no community members should be singled out, or have to sit at a designated location, simply because they have a food allergy.” It continues, “SAGE Dining Services believes there is a health risk involved with serving peanuts or tree nuts to children. Due to these risks, SAGE does not serve peanuts, tree nut or nut oils to school age children in the dining hall. We allow each school to determine whether, and now, peanut butter may be served.”
Ms. Kelly Groth, SAGE’s Assistant Catering Manager, explained that generally SAGE has a strict policy of “no peanuts, no peanut butter on campus. So what they did is offer the substitute to replace the peanut butter.”
In addition to the Wow Butter and Sun Butter, SAGE is also providing small packets of single-use Skippy peanut butter in a separate bowl near the spreads.
Many students don’t understand why there was a switch. Will Wildrige ’19 said that he is “not inclined to try the Sun Butter because it doesn’t look very good.” Hanna Mac Namee ’19, who has not tried Sun or Wow Butter, said, “I knew someone who had a bad peanut allergy last year, and, from what I saw, she did not have a problem with the spread section of the dining hall. She did have to actively avoid it, yes, but she did not feel cheated out of anything.”
Gabby Henry ’18 explained that she really does not like it, but understands why the change was necessary. She said that she knows that some students have “peanut allergies on campus, and they had bad reactions to the peanut butter.” Still, she is adamant on staying away from both. “Sun Butter does not look appealing, and the Wow Butter, I assumed it was peanut butter, ate it, and was immediately disgusted.”
Claire Gussler ’19 said, “I have always been a big peanut butter eater.” When Choate switched to Sun Butter and Wow Butter, she commented, “I tasted them both. I thought the Sun Butter was really gross, and the Wow Butter was okay, but kind of weird.”
She continued, “The Sun Butter is really firm, and it’s gray, which really freaks me out. It tastes just like sunflower seeds, not like peanut butter. The Wow Butter is just artificial-tasting. It also doesn’t taste like peanut butter.” Rather than opting for the Sun Butter or Wow Butter, Gussler eats peanut butter from the packets beside the spread station.
Libby Wilson ’18 said that having the peanut butter available in small packets is another problem because “people still spread that at the station anyway, so it’s still an allergen issue. And it is also so wasteful because it produces so much plastic waste.”
