<p>Would love to get feedback from any students with Celiac who have managed their diets while at BU. Did you eat at the Dining Halls safely, or did you cook for yourselves? I have made initial contact with Dining Services, but would like to hear firsthand experiences. Thanks so much.</p>
<p>Bump, anyone??</p>
<p>Don’t have Celiac, but I will say BU is one of the most accommodating college dining halls in the country. There are a wide variety of options for vegans, vegetarians, lactose-intolerant, kosher, etc etc. I would imagine it will be the same for gluten-free.</p>
<p>Thank you for replying, BUBailey. I’m glad to hear that. We’ll definitely investigate further; tour the dining halls and talk to the powers that be. And then make a decision from there. Thanks :)</p>
<p>I agree. BU dining is quite accommodating. Too much so, in my opinion. Dining halls can only have so many options, and I’d rather not sacrifice the variety and quality of the food I’m eating to subsidize specialty items for people with allergies and dietary restrictions. That said, I’d feel totally differently if I had allergies or dietary restrictions.</p>
<p>Wow, BUsenior, your reply was not very helpful other than to spout your negative feelings about providing food for those of us with medically prescribed diets. Yeah, I bet you’d feel differently if you were required to shell out the big bucks for a meal plan that didn’t meet your needs safely; ie, cross-contamination issues, etc. Maybe BU will accommodate; I’ll be researching this more as the college search process continues. But how would you like to have to make your college choice dependent in some way on whether or not you’ll be able to eat safely and stay healthy? It kind of sucks. Try a little more sensitivity in your posts.</p>
<p>Hey! I have Celiac and am on a dining plan, and they are incredibly accommodating. My GI doctor was even impressed w/ everything they offered. They have special pasta, pancakes, waffles, cereal, bread, cakes, chicken nuggets, granola, breakfast bars, and a lot more. The staff and managers are incredibly kind and understanding about Celiac. If you come across one of the staff who has a language barrier, there will always be a manager there to help you. BU is definitely safe for Celiacs. =]</p>
<p>Yeah, it’s so great to finally hear from someone else with Celiac. Thanks so much, BUStudent2013 
It makes all the difference to hear from someone who’s eating GF successfully at BU. You have given me hope. A few questions, if you don’t mind. What dining hall do you use, and do you find you need to supplement with your own stuff in your room, or does the dining hall totally satisfy you?</p>
<p>Britishblue, please don’t take what BUsenior says to heart. There are many kind and helpful people at BU who don’t share BUsenior’s negative attitude.</p>
<p>Thank you for your kind and thoughtful post, fishymom. It’s very much appreciated :)</p>
<p>britishblue: a parent here, and not involved with BU specifically but just finished the college search process with my daughter who has Celiac…</p>
<p>One of the key questions she asked, wherever we went, was whether she had to let the staff know every day, in advance, what she wanted to eat or whether GF food was readily available all over campus…some schools required that you do that…</p>
<p>also, is GF food clearly marked or do you have to ask somebody behind the scenes every day? she hated the schools where she couldn’t just figure it out on her own…</p>
<p>A busy college student is not going to remember to “plan” what to eat every day…and they need easy access in multiple locations…</p>
<p>Hope this helps!! Colleges have become so much more accomodating as of late, but these are key issues to ask.</p>
<p>Please post what you find on the parent cafe thread on Celiac disease…</p>
<p>BUStudent2013 - thanks for your post! BU is one of my top schools, but I’ve been worried about the whole gluten accommodation set up there since I am highly intolerant to gluten.</p>
<p>rodney, all great questions to ask. I’ll definitely keep these in mind. And thanks for directing me to the other thread. I’ll keep checking in there as well.</p>
<p>I also wanted to let you guys know that they are building a new dining facility near Kenmore Square (East Campus area) that will have four floors of dining! This new building will be built by Sept 2012 and will replace the Towers, Myles-Standish, and Shelton dining halls. And…one of the great things is that they will have a station and kitchen in the dining hall that is gluten-free! It’s great because the kitchen is separate from the kitchen used for the other stations, so there’s no chance of any cross-contamination.</p>
<p>sinceredesichick, are you freaking kidding me?!? If your info is correct, it would be amazing! How did you hear of this? I’d love to get more info. Thanks :)</p>
<p>Hey, I’m a BU student and heard about the new kitchen several times - it will be built, along with the rest of the East Campus Dining Area, by Fall 2012. In the mean time there are a lot of gluten-free options and they have specific refrigerators full of gluten free brownies and things as well. I have several friends here who use this and they have all had no problem eating gluten-free at BU. Seriously, we have one of the best dining halls in the country.</p>
<p>(I heard from the people building it, Dean Elmore, and many students as well. They had a meeting about it that I attended.)</p>
<p>prismatic, that is such exciting and encouraging news! Thanks for sharing what you know :)</p>
<p>I spoke with a friend who is currently at BU. She said there are separate refrigerators in each dining hall for gluten free bread, muffins, etc. The dining hall staff is also well aware of food allergies/intolerances. They can cook your food on a separate grill or cooking surface if you ask them to (to avoid cross-contamination.) You can also request a meeting with the dining hall manager who will give you a tour of the dining hall facility and tell you what exactly is safe to eat. My friend said one her friends at BU is a Celiac and she’s never had any cross-contamination problems in the dining halls hope this helps!</p>
<p>That definitely helps, kew091792. Thank you :)</p>