So we just finished the college selection process with my oldest and my youngest is in 7th grade. Both of them have Celiac Disease and in the end my oldest selected her college based on where she could eat in the dining hall like a “normal” college student.
For those who don’t know Celiac Disease has no cure and the only treatment is a strict gluten-free diet that includes avoiding cross contamination. This means if a cutting board is used to cutting gluten-containing bread it cannot be used for gluten-free bread. Toasters must be separate. If someone spreads cream cheese on their gluten-containing bagel and then sticks the knife back in the cream cheese for more, the entire container of cream cheese now must be considered cross contaminated. Failure to keep a strict gluten-free diet means your odds of dying (not just getting) for certain forms of cancer increase five times the normal average. When an accidental mistake does happen it triggers an immune response, in which the body attacks itself and takes months of correct eating to correct, so you feel run down like you have a cold for a while after a mistake. However, the response does vary among people with Celiac Disease.
I am wondering if there is anyone else out there who had to pick a college for food reasons or some other “odd” reasons?
Some of the college which we have found to be good are: Gettysburg College, Emerson College, and the University of Virginia. Anyone have any others?
Muhlenberg has a very good gluten free section of their dining hall. I would suggest you look for colleges that will meet your daughters needs academically first and then follow up with dining services to see which one of those schools can best meet her dietary needs. I have seen a number of schools who seem to be recognizing the need to provide GF options for their students. Good luck to you!
Most urban areas will have a college that understands the need for a gluten-free diet.
Going through a similar search for our daughter who has an allergy to almost everything. George Mason is one you might want to look at. My daughter qualifies for ADA accommodations, so our plan is to request kitchen access in her dorm so that she can cook her own food and an option to not buy a meal plan. One suggestion I read elsewhere is to have your student ask to talk to another student who has food allergies to see how well the college actually handles allergies versus relying on what the college says. If the college uses a large food service, they don’t always know all the ingredients in their foods as some things come in large tubs with ingredients not always labeled.Good luck. It definitely adds an element to the college search that makes things a bit more difficult.
Michigan is outstanding with this!!
A friend and one of her children get very severe reactions if they are inadvertently exposed to gluten. Her D had serious problems with tooth, muscle development, stomach and muscle pain growing up, and they finally discovered it was all celiac related. I know people diagnosed with celiac through biopsies who cheat occasionally. This family cannot. They need to be really careful about travelling and have chosen not to live on campus. Through seeing their struggles, I completely understand choosing a college based on food.
Thank you! FYI – My DD has selected UVA for this fall. However, I will need to do the same thing for my son in a few years. More college recommendations are appreciated! Thank you.
My oldest daughter has Celiac and her freshman year at UofSc was not a pleasant experience, especially the first semester. After we got the head of dining involved, it got somewhat better, but she still end up in the ER due to all of the cross contamination that she had been experiencing (all of her lymph nodes in her abdominal area were inflammed). Since we had no faith in their ability to adequately feed her, she moved off campus into an apartment and has had no issues the last two years. I know that after her freshman year they changed food service providers, but I do not know if it has gotten any better.
@hopewhite25 by “UofSc” what school do you mean?
I was impressed with the allergy-free options and signage at Univeristy of Vermont (UVM). They have allergy-free “zones” with dedicated equipment, etc. Also kitchens available for the students to cook for themselves or take cooking lessons (included in dining plan).
@NinaBlue University of South Carolina
While I myself don’t have celiac, I’m gluten sensitive and know several people at my school (University of Richmond) that have celiac or non-celiac gluten intolerance. The school is really good about dealing with it! All menus and prepackaged food items are labeled as to whether they contain or may contain gluten. Many of the locations on campus have gluten-free bread, gluten-free pasta, zoodles, etc. The convenience store on campus sells gluten-free sandwiches and various frozen and non-frozen gluten-free items (including donuts, chicken nuggets, cookie dough), although you need to check the labels for possibilities of cross-contamination. Gluten-free desserts are kept separate in the dining hall to prevent cross-contamination, they have special pans that are designated gluten-free for cooking made to order items, and if one has accommodations through the school nutritionist, one can call ahead to the dining hall and have food specially prepared for them- they even usually cover it in plastic wrap so it won’t get contaminated on your way to to the table!