<p>My daughter has been diagnosed with Celiac Disease, she needs to eat gluten free.
After visiting many colleges, we are very disappointed at the number of schools that really don't accomodate students with this disease.</p>
<p>I was wondering if anyone has found any colleges that do a great job with accomodating those with Celiacs.</p>
<p>Many schools say they will make her gluten free options if she orders ahead etc.. Not really practical for a college student.</p>
<p>I met a student with this issue the other day. She’s had the disease a while and knows what she can/can’t eat. While there are always plenty of gluten-free options (plain meat, fruti/veggies, salad bar), she’s having some trouble, she believes, with cross-contamination. Her plan is to get special permission to drop the school’s meal plan (or get a very limited commuter plan) and do most of her own cooking in her dorm floor’s kitchenette.</p>
<p>It’s a list of standard dining hall items that are gluten free - so your d could pick and choose from items offered in addition to making special orders</p>
<p>Daughter started at Elon University this fall; literally eating all day and all night both in the dining halls and in the retail establishments gluten free…has been a better experience than living here in suburban NJ where half the schools and food establishments cannot/ will not accommodate. </p>
<p>Pm me if you want contact information for dining services director…very responsive</p>
<p>In addition, the marketplace on campus has GF stuff for students to buy for their dorm rooms…and there is always Amazon prime ( which is free for college students)</p>
<p>Our college search was limited to schools that would accommodate without pre- ordering</p>
<p>Edit: just looked at the umich PDF; the biggest difference we found at Elon was that they actively purchase GF bread, rolls, cereals etc to prepare all foods with the GF option,rather than just letting kids know what is GF in their orders( they do that too); there is an active process to obtain the product.</p>
<p>Friends dau started at BU and then transferred to NYU (I think). This parent would have been vocal if her dau’s gluten-free diet wasn’t assressed. And I haven’t heard her say there was a problem.</p>
<p>Umich is one of the schools she is considering. Although if you look a the daily offerings on-line there are not many g-free choices available each day.</p>
<p>I was hoping maybe she would be allowed to have a larger refrigerator/freezer to keep food in her room. Still allowing it to fit in a small space.</p>
<p>You would think larger schools would be in tune to this disease, but unfortunately that’s not the case. Example, Penn State has only 2 dining halls that offer G-free options.</p>
<p>^^looks like you are looking at top schools…easiest thing to do is contact dining services of the schools on her list and visit them when you visit the schools…</p>
<p>We added that to each and every one of our visits…good luck! Unfortunately, while I have done a ton of research, my daughter was not looking at top schools last year.</p>
<p>^^and, unfortunately, moldy GF bread in the dining hall and most employees who have NO idea that cross contamination is a huge issue for those with Celiac Disease…</p>
<p>One of our worst experiences with this issue during our visits…</p>
<p>I agree that cross-contamination is a big concern as is moldy, stale, old food. That is why many schools only offer a few options at each meal and only offer GF at a few of their cafeterias. There is not that large a demand and to offer more would create old decaying food which would need to be thrown out. Until the demand is there you won’t find huge offerings. It used to be that way with vegetarian and vegan food, but now enough kids eat that way that there are more offerings.</p>
<p>We have a friend whose Celiac daughter is a Junior at UMich and she has done just fine - even gaining the Freshman 15! The best thing to do is to pick some colleges and then make some phone calls. It will take research and a little extra effort but I’m sure you’ll find some schools that are good matches in every way including their GF food offerings.</p>
<p>As with any issue like this, ask lots of questions and investigate a lot. Many will say sure you can eat gluten free…then point you to the lettuce and apples. One thing I’ve found with restaurants is that some will tout their gluten free menus…then you find out that they have exactly two gluten free entrees, so unless you love those, you don’t want to go there very often. You may find, by checking the dining hall website, that they are basically offering the same gluten free option every day.</p>
<p>I would look for links like this one at each school’s web site (of those on your list of reaches/matches/safeties etc)
to see how they handle it</p>
<p>I know of a former student with Celiac disease who went to Ithaca College and lobbied to get the school to feature gluten-free options. I believe she also encouraged Cornell University to do the same. She is now working in Denver with a gluten-free bakery to teach college students about how to get their schools to create gluten-free sections in their dining halls. So, don’t give up on a school that does not have the appropriate options, if you are willing to work to change things. This student’s logic was that if a school could have kosher options, they could offer gluten-free options as well. And her persistence seems to have paid off.</p>
<p>I believe Boston University is building a gluten-free dining hall opening in Fall 2012. Also, William & Mary seems to handle gluten-free well. My friend and her DD have celiacs and the DD is looking a colleges now also and those are two she found to be celiac friendly</p>
<p>Our state flagship dining program is ranked in the top ten in the Princeton Review. Here is a link to the gluten free info on their website. I’m not sure if the options are better or worse than other schools but it might be helpful to print out for comparing.</p>
<p>My son was dx as a child and I share your frustration with the already-hard search being complicated by the need to survive. Penn State will let them out of the mandatory food contract. They also will provide GF food at any dining hall, it’s just that “officially” there are only 2. The convenience store at IST has gf options, too. But they could do better, I know what you mean. I have a thread at celiac.com about college searching you might find useful, it’s in parents/children but is at least a month old . It’s more useful to contact a specific dining hall manager than Food service or Disabilities. </p>
<p>Ithaca College has a gf convenience store, a gf kitchen station, and will cook food to order for celiac students and others with allergies. They also have a student group that advises the dining hall. By contrast, Point Park U (in Pgh) told us he couldn’t have a frig of any kind, nor a microwave. Period. The range of attention to this is mind-boggling</p>
<p>I have a friend who is severely dairy allergic at PSU. She receives a weekly email with the safe menu items highlighted, and a phone call about every 10 days to check on her. Of course, that doesn’t remotely cover cross contamination issues or access issues. (The menu often only has 1 or 2 items she can eat safely) The dining hall manager knows her and is trying to buy what she will eat, not just what is available.</p>