By SYDNEY SCHWARTZ
The Patriot Ledger

MARSHFIELD - Middle schoolers in Marshfield may soon have a midmorning snack time.

The school committee’s wellness subcommittee is looking into guidelines for a Furnace Brook Middle School snack program. Its members think nutritious snacks during the day would help children think better.

But because of children’s allergies, especially those to nuts, setting up a snack program has been difficult.

‘‘I’m always saying the brain is the only organ in the body that needs food to work. It just made sense to me,’’ said Nancy Currie, a school committee member and former health teacher who serves on the subcommittee. ‘‘I had not even thought about allergy.’’

In the elementary schools, where children spend most of their day in the same room, some classrooms or tables have peanut-free zones, Currie said.

But at the middle school, children change classes. A student who is allergic to peanuts might be sitting at the same desk as someone who several periods earlier munched on a snack that contained traces of nuts.

‘‘On the surface it looked like a win-win situation, but the further you look at it, the more difficult it gets in terms of allergies and potential problems,’’ Currie said.

Currie said the committee will probably recommend a list of healthy snacks similar to one compiled by the John C. Stalker Institute of Food and Nutrition at Framingham State College.

Students, parents and staff members probably would be educated about snacking and allergies, and students would be encouraged to bring healthy snacks that do not contain traces of nuts. Snack-time planning would be done by the teachers.

‘‘We are not endorsing any specific food, but we are sending people to a (Web) site that lists what are generally recognized as healthy snacks, although they are not peanut-free,’’ Currie said.

The snack program would probably begin in late September or October.

Sydney Schwartz may be reached at sschwartz@ledger.com .

Copyright 2007 The Patriot Ledger Transmitted Wednesday, August 22, 2007