Celiac @ college.

<p>^^thanks for posting; wonder if those top 10 are “top” because they use Udi’s products exclusively…certainly not an all inclusive list based on the comments…but a great start</p>

<p>Thanks again everyone! Keep any more suggestions coming! We are continuing the search. So far she is most impressed with dining services for GF at Holy Cross, Williams, Conn. College and Colgate. She is looking forward to touring schools in the DC area this summer and a few more in New England and NY. I am impressed with her initiative to contact dining services and set up meetings with them on her own. I really believe that the school she feels will be able to address her celiac and other food allergies the best will end up being the school she attends.</p>

<p>Simply Gluten Free magazine had an article on eating gluten free in college and listed some resources, including blogs that have good college information. Specifically mentioned were Vanderbilt, NC State and DePauw.</p>

<p>Regarding the “back before (celiac) was cool” comment. Just want to make sure to repeat what others have said, that those who are “gluten free”, a now popular dietary choice, due to “intolerance,” may very well not have celiac an autoimmune disease. The GF fad has been helpful in a lot of ways, but GF folks can afford a little gluten by mistake, while celiac sufferers cannot.( I wonder how schools do with avoiding maltodextrin, food starch, soy sauce, natural flavors, barley malt etc.)</p>

<p>As for choosing schools, I still think it is better to select one with the location, vibe, academic offerings or whatever else, rather than focusing solely on GF issues. I have a kid with multiple health issues, of which celiac is only one, and she chose the school with the best courses in the area she wanted to study.</p>

<p>I understand that sometimes best efforts on the part of a school still result in cross-contamination, but if that is the case, I still think the situation should be solvable. It is not legal to have access affected by health needs.</p>

<p>After all these years, I am as tired as anyone else of advocacy, so perhaps this is in theory only: luckily she chose a school that is pretty good with the dietary needs. And it is within an hour of home so I do take her grocery shopping fairly often.</p>

<p>UMass Amherst. They offer vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free items at all of thier dining halls. Here is a link and they have a aword document which discusses celiac.</p>

<p>[UMass</a> Nutrition](<a href=“Nutrition | UMass Dining”>Nutrition | UMass Dining)</p>

<p>I just wanted to give an update: My D chose College of the Holy Cross in Worcester MA and is thrilled with her choice!
Holy Cross is a perfect fit for her all around, and their Dining Services personnel are amazing when it comes to her multiple food allergies and Celiac Disease. If you would like more info about her experience at Holy Cross so far (less than 1 semester) please PM me. During the college search process there were quite a few schools that she would have felt comfortable attending regarding her allergies/celiac. They were: Lafayette College, Skidmore College, Colgate, William & Mary, University of Richmond, Loyola University Maryland, and UMASS Amherst. One of the dining service managers at one of these schools also recommended UCONN as a leader in caring for students with special diets (we did not tour there). </p>

<p>Congratulations. Also just want to point out that ANY school is legally required to accommodate celiac and food allergies. Anyone dealing with these can ask for a meeting with the dining hall director before attendance, as well as the disabilities office if necessary.</p>

<p>“legally required to accommodate celiac and food allergies” can mean really boring, bland. repetitive menus if the school is not really interested in dealing with it. Cross-contamination is still a major issue even when dedicated areas in the kitchen are set up, because it is very expensive to truly isolate a portion of the kitchen.</p>

<p>So it is still worth investigating what the food will be like if you have these issues. Salad and rice-based something at every meal on a weekly repeating schedule gets old really fast.</p>