IMO, no one should have to wait until they have been accepted in order to get the information they need to determine if a school can adequately accommodate food allergies. Colleges need to be more open on what procedures they have in place to ensure access to safe foods throughout the school year, during school/dorm sponsored trips, and during breaks and testing periods. We made sure to schedule a meeting with student dining managers and dietitians during every campus visit we made (campus tour guides cannot generally give accurate or detailed info that is needed). During our visits we encountered a range of accommodations and associated limitations. In the end, our son accepted and is attending a school with a high level of support for food allergies. Knowing that has made life much easier/enjoyable for our son (and his parents 
)
We waited until admission. I cannot imagine what it would be like for colleges to discuss accommodations for every health issue with every applicant. Our family was dealing with many health issues.
I could see discussing this with all of the colleges that accept a kid. We did that.
Frankly, my attitude was that my kids should choose schools based on ānormalā things like size, location, academics, and vibe- not health accommodations. I felt that if accommodations were not adequate at the time of acceptance, they sure would be once they attended, because we would make sure they were.
Not applying to schools that donāt do a good job with this would hypothetically enable them to continue to do a bad job!! It is frankly illegal not to accommodate.
To threadjack slightly, the term is āmashgiach (pronounced mosh-GEE-och, with a hard G).ā When I was in law school, there was a kosher kitchen. One of my non-Jewish friends asked me why they needed a āmagician. Was it to make the kosher food actually taste good?ā 30+ years later, I still laugh when I think about that exchange.
Thanks! Now I know!
I get what compmom is saying, but we didnāt find that to be very practical. The gulf between an accomodation and a normal life can be pretty big. We had a school say they labelled the food as required, and no other accomodations were legally needed so if that wasnāt enough, we might be happier elsewhere. We visited schools in order to ascertain which ones included sufficient strategies in order to see who was worth applying to. Ymmv.
Some people make campus trips in order to arrive at a reach/match/safety list ahead of applying. Others make campus trips after acceptance. The main reason we took tours in advance was to arrive at a list where our sonsā food allergy could be best managed, and by that I mean where it would least impact his college experience. So ahead of each visit we reached out to residential dining and dietitians to arrange meetings. It the meetings conflicted with campus tours we would simply split up.
Universities are beginning to do a much better job when it comes to food allergies.Someone in this thread mentioned Penn State, so I went to their dining website and yes, they are doing a great job. Bravo!
I just felt that I as a parent would be discriminating by limiting my kidsā choices due to health. I believe strongly in equal access to ALL schools for ALL kids. My kid had three serious health conditions in addition to celiac, and I still felt that way. Health issues were not and in my own personal opinion should not be a factor in choosing a school.
Letās agree to disagree on this one, because I feel that health issues should be a key concern in selecting a school. We did not have any problem arriving at a list of 12 great colleges where our sonās allergy would not limit him any way. Did it take some research and additional meetings? Yes. Was it worth it? You bet!
There is a big difference between colleges that take the minimal steps required and others that go the distance in ensuring that students with food allergies have great college experiences.
Perhaps we should start a list of colleges and universities that go the extra mile?
I think people will find more details on the ways in which schools address these things, after acceptance, generally. But I am glad you had success before applying. So yes I think we disagree, but then again, there were schools my kids really wanted to go to and in every case, schools did make changes if needed if accommodations were not sufficient as previously organized. Liability is a powerful motivator.
I would love to see a list of colleges that are very good at handling food allergies. I agree that would be one of our key considerations in determining what schools to apply to. In theory, maybe any college should be able to make some kind of accommodation, but it is important to us that it has minimal impact on his college experience.
Our son never complained about not being able to eat pizza and cake at birthday parties as a kid, or not being able to eat with his teammates st team parties or award dinners (he would just abstain and wait until he got home afterwards to eat though he would sometimes be starving at that point).
Also, in my experience, when kitchens have to do something different from their normal process for a small number of kids is when mistakes are more likely to happen. As an example, when touring colleges for our older daughter with no allergies, we ate at a number of schools. He had no problem eating at Claremont McKenna where the ingredients for each food item was clearly listed and when in doubt, the server dishing out the food was able to answer questions (I.e. was it cooked in butter or olive oil) versus USC (none of the servers there had any idea what was in any of the food, no ingredients were listed and we had to ask to speak to the head chef to find out what was safe for him to eat). I have no doubt that USC would be able to accommodate food allergies for their students but it would make his college experience so much easier and enjoyable if food allergy considerations were already built into their existing processes.
Just for example, once admitted my son met with the head of dining services and was given a personal email, an also a big binder with all the ingredients for each dish. He also was given access to menus for each day online or via email, I forget which. The dining services person also discussed cross-contamination and knew which fries were safe, though he didnāt partake. None of this was evident from a visit. My daughter also met with the director of dining services and the head chef, after being admitted and was told not only where to find safe food in the dining hall but was given a number to call so that her separate meal could be prepared in advance while she was on her way. Again, the dining hall itself gave no hint of this kind of attention. Just so people donāt judge prematurely.
We had a lot more to do for other serious health conditions, believe me.
I teach at James Madison in VAā¦ they have various ways they accommodate allergies, and other special dietary needsā¦ ranging from one āall-you-can-eatā dining location that is specifically geared towards allergies, and gluten free, a registered dietitian who works with the student, and can arrange for specially prepared meals, and allergen information and ingredients available onlineā¦ https://jmu.campusdish.com/-/media/Files/ARAMARK/Higher-Education/Eastern/JamesMadison/JMUProgramGuide17,-d-,18.pdf ā¦
I have not worked with them directly, but have students who have with positive results.
Cornell has a dining hall that is gluten free and nut free. http://celiaccommunity.org/2017/cornell-dining-gluten-and-nut-free/
Smith College has a dedicated kitchen and dining room for gluten free. As of 2015 over 40 were eating there. My memory says that that kitchen also handles nut free but I canāt find a citation for it. https://www.smith.edu/news/gluten-free-kitchen-at-dawes/
http://www.gazettenet.com/Celiac-Smith-College-Gluten-Free-Dining-Hall-5225499
Smith is also one of the most vegan-friendly colleges.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/ryan-huling/the-most-veganfriendly-co_b_758060.html
I ran across this great aid from the Food Allergy and Research Education website. Their site also gives great tips for approaching college with students that have food allergies. On it I found most of the colleges that we found for our son. Not sure their list is exhaustive so I certainly hope more schools list this levels of support. Check it out and send them feedback
I have no idea how this list was compiled but it leaves out sooooo many schools that it is virtually useless.
Note that celiac is also included.
Itās a start and it breaks out different features in a clear way. Do you have any access to any other lists?
About the U.S. Colleges Directory: Comparing Food Allergy & Gluten-Free Policies (from the big 3 providers)
https://allergicliving.com/2016/11/22/about-the-u-s-colleges-directory-comparing-food-allergy-gluten-free-policies/
Many colleges by state:
https://allergicliving.com/2016/11/22/allergic-livings-u-s-colleges-directory-comparing-allergy-and-gluten-free-policies/
As I have written before, I, personally, do not support choosing colleges on this basis. The whole point of the Americans with Disabilities Act is a level playing field. Limiting choices based on allergies or any other health problem is contrary to that landmark law that brought equal access for so many.
I think thatās unrealistic, but ymmv. All ADA requires is some sort of accomodation ā not equality. What I mean by that is School A and School B will both observe the letter of the law, but Aās accomodations are two entrees that switch every week and labels. School B has a dedicated station, allergy free items stocked at their convenience atores, and labels. School A expects my student to call ahead and ask for food, on a schedule. School B has it ready in a self-service station. School A says " weāre really not seeing a lot of students with a need, he might be happier elsewhere" School B says " weāre forming a student advisory group, would he consider helping us".
We visited based on usual factors, but he would no more have attended a school with lack of robust meal support than he would have gone to a school without a robust department of interest. ( my examples are real, fwiw)
If school A said that he might be happier elsewhere you should report them.