Understanding Food Allergies: Group Training

Strategies to help Prevent & Manage Food Allergies in the Preschool Environment

This group training course for early childhood educators will discuss strategies to prevent and manage food allergy reactions in the preschool environment.

Learning objectives include:

  • Understand what a food allergy is and how the body reacts
  • Discuss who is impacted by food allergies
  • Identify the main food allergens causing reactions in the U.S. and where to find them.
  • Identify food allergens in non-food items and discuss alternative solutions
  • Create a food safety plan to prevent food allergy reactions in preschool settings
  • Develop a response plan in the event of a food allergy reaction in preschool settings

This version allows early childhood educators to complete this training in a group setting. The videos are fully narrated, allowing students to view course materials on a single display. Course facilitators are responsible for making sure that the video and sound system used is sufficient for each student to both see and hear the course.

One individual, likely the school director or administrator, should be designated as the “course facilitator”. This individual is responsible for:

  • (1) logging into their account to access the course,
  • (2) guiding staff through each video and the associated discussion questions,
  • and (3) conducting a post-training assessment.

Handouts and a course script are available to users on the course curriculum page. The handouts include a course activity to complete throughout the training and note pages to guide viewers through the videos.

A guide for facilitators will be available and includes discussion questions for each training section and post assessment questions. The post assessment can be conducted a variety of different ways depending on the course facilitator’s discretion.

Once the training is complete, a course certificate will become available. This certificate will only contain the name of the account holder. Once received, the course certificate number and a list of all attendees can be sent to [email protected] with the subject line “Course Completion”. Course completion certificates for each attendee will be sent back to the corresponding email address.

This course offers 2.0 clock hours for all participating attendees towards yearly professional development requirements.

Courses are good for up to one year after the date of purchase, allowing newly hired staff to complete the training at a later date.

Learn more about Village Table


Your Instructor


Jessica Barnes, PhD, RDN, LD
Jessica Barnes, PhD, RDN, LD

Dr. Jessica Barnes received her PhD in nutrition from Texas Woman's University. Her research focused on food preference development and creating materials to help preschoolers become familiar with healthy foods. She has worked with families and communities as a clinical and community Registered Dietitian Nutritionist.


Course Curriculum


  Introduction & Learning Objectives
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  Part 1: All about food allergies
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  Part 2: Common Food Allergies and Where to Find Them
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  Part 3: Allergen Prevention Strategies
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  Part 4: Allergen Management Strategies
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Frequently Asked Questions


When does the course start and finish?
It is a completely self-paced online course - you decide when you start and when you finish.
How long do I have access to the course?
Courses expire after one year from the date of purchase. After enrolling, you have unlimited access to this course during that time - across any and all devices you own.

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