The "Rainbow Table" doesn't have any signage at all; I was a cafeteria volunteer for the first two years my DD was there and we were told it was nut-free, and that we weren't to clean it (the janitor would clean it with a separate rag and bleach-y smelling water between classes.) There are two kids who sit there during the second-grade lunch period. One has a peanut allergy, and I believe the other one has allergies to peanuts and milk, though not a LTFA to milk. They each bring friends to sit with them, and those friends often have the hot lunch. In all of my lunch periods volunteering there, I never saw anyone looking closely at the lunches at that table. Given that, and that my daughter wanted to sit with her friends at her regular table, I haven't pursued it as an option for her.
My DD's table is by no means egg-free. I wouldn't expect that. I'd love it, of course, but wouldn't expect it. Her friends regularly bring in baked goods, sandwiches with mayo, etc. My DD has been okay with that, though we have talked about how to politely ask her friends to move their foods back into their own space, as one of them is fond of putting her veggies and ranch dressing in front of my DD, which was frustrating for her. I've talked at length this weekend with my DD about how as she's getting older, she's going to have to stand up for herself, too--that this is a team effort, and she's leading the team. I want her to feel empowered, rather than terrified about this allergy. I told her it's okay to say, "I can't eat that, it would make me have a reaction, and I'd like you to move it back to your side of the table." My DD gets this. But the hard-boiled eggs are a different thing entirely, in my opinion. The chances of her anaphylaxing because a friend is eating a sandwich with mayo are pretty remote. But if her egg-eating friend eats her crumbly, messy egg too close to my daughter, and some of it were to get into my DD's food without her noticing and she ate it, it would be terrible.
Because there was some bullying last year and because my daughter is very shy, I chafe at the idea of her having to ask her friends to leave the table if they're eating foods that are potentially dangerous. I did tell my DD that the next time she sees hard-boiled eggs, she needs to stand up right away, walk over to the cafeteria aide, and ask her to find her a new seat. If the cafeteria aide won't do so, she needs to go to the office and ask them to call me, and then they'll have to deal with a 6-foot Mama Bear. I am NOT shy.
In the meantime, I have a meeting tomorrow with the principal, who answered my email on a Sunday, God love him. He's new and seems receptive. Other friends have gone to him with food-related concerns and he's acted quickly, so I'm hoping he'll be open to finding a solution.
Thanks again--it feels like we're reinventing the wheel, but I am hoping that all of this might make it easier for the kids coming up after my DD. Hope so, anyway.