Then, a lot of schools went with the "no candy" rule. That was when I stopped giving out candy as a reward. I switched to fruit snacks, which I realize isn't a whole lot better, but it has "fruit" in its name, so it's not candy, right? When a student finished a row on his "sticker chart", he alternated between the prize box and the fruit snack box.
When we do something food-related in speech (which is rare), I have the students take the item home in a ziplock bag. I don't allow them to eat anything from me at school.
The reason for this is the outbreak of allergies and parents going "gluten free" with their kids. I don't feel like I can be responsible for giving a student something they shouldn't have, or that the parent doesn't want him to have. The rule is the same whether they choose a prize from the treasure box, or they take a food item home: Put it in your backpack until you get home. Each of my students can recite that verbatim. All I have to ask is, "What are you going to do with that?", and he/she will say, "Put it in my backpack." If they don't finish it, I'll say, "Until..." and they'll finish it with "I get home"!
I suppose that I could get permission from each parent, but it's been my experience that some parents don't closely look over forms that are sent home. Or, I may not get a form back from a parent. To me, it's a lot more hassle to keep up with who can eat what than just do the same thing for everybody.
If you allow students to eat in your speech room, how do you handle this issue?