<p>I don’t think you’re being unreasonable, but I ended up in a similar situation and my school would not yield on requiring the meal plan under any circumstances. I ended up living in the dorms and living off of microwavable food for a year while paying for the meal plan. A better option would have been to move off campus. Maybe you’ve already said, I can’t remember, but would that be an option?</p>
<p>Do they have an option to get flex dollars for a meal plan? If so, she could do that and get the lowest amount available and get snacks, etc. to eat in her dorm if they don’t waive the meal plan.</p>
<p>SteveMA beat me to the punch - in the [likely] event that they won’t refund the meal plan, can you persuade them to switch it to the flexbucks that can be used at the convenience store and coffee shop (even, I think, for things like xeroxing and laundry)? I think those campus bucks also have an option where you can order takeout from local restaurants using them.</p>
<p>The other option might be to pursue this through disability services - if you can get your doctor to sign documentation that the campus meal plan is making her sick, then the disabilities office would probably be able to push for a waiver to the required meal plan policy.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, start freezing packets of food to send back to school after Thanksgiving break! :)</p>
<p>I don’t think this is a problem unique to your daughter. She’s not the only one getting sick on the dining hall food at her college. Son couldn’t eat the food at his college either without running to a bathroom within an hour of eating it. His housemates had the same problem with the food. </p>
<p>We ended up buying the cheapest meal plan possible and subsidizing his purchase of off campus food. I really don’t think his problem had anything to do with a diagnosable problem other than bad, crappy, and disgusting dining hall food. As long as he ate food from off campus venues, his stomach was fine. </p>
<p>He swears they put a laxative in the food so the food wouldn’t stay in the body long enough for food poisoning to set in.</p>
<p>What SteveMa & Strad said! My DD had a meal plan + flex $ and she came home Christmas and summer with pounds of coffee, mugs as gifts, a french press etc. She had to have a meal plan, but she could use the money for other things. Yes, she would likely not have bought that stuff otherwise, but at least we got something for our money.</p>
<p>Another thought, can she “sell” discounted swipes to friends (like hungry guys who want an extra caf visit)?</p>
<p>My daughter and I got off both gluten and all dairy and things improved. I also recommend enzymes. I was skeptical, but they were amazingly helpful. I use Doctor’s Best “best digestive enzymes” that also have probiotics.</p>
<p>Allergy testing … I’d wait. She had no issues prior to the current dining hall issue. False positives (and false negatives) are both problems with allergy testing. Of course that’s only based on my six years of experience. Perhaps next week the problem allergen will be finally be identified!</p>
<p>As for the reaction your D is having, it sounds similar to my D’s experience while studying in Africa. She suspected “something in the butter” because things “weren’t as bad” when she eliminated that from her diet. YMMV.</p>
<p>I too wonder about the solvents used in washing the dishes. Any chance she can bring in paper plates and her own glass? Or what happens if she brings in her own food and eats in the caf?</p>
<p>My gut tells me it’s somehow water based issue. Are there other campus dining facilities? How does she do there</p>
<p>OP - I’m glad your D is away from the dorm food. Hopefully things will get better now. </p>
<p>For others - We have a young friend that suffered from gluten intolerance freshman year at college. She probably had it before, but the dorm food she ate was especially carb intense and set of GI problems. It may be a common issue.</p>
<p>Gluten intolerance is becoming more common on campus for a few reasons.
Wheat flour has become higher protein as growers recieve a higher premium for higher protein wheat.
Flour based dishes can be cheap, filling and easy to prepare.
I used to get cramps when I would eat a sandwich even though the basic screening test for celiac wasnt positive.
I took it out of my diet for a period of about six months, and now only eat it very seldom, but as long as I take enzymes i seem to be doing ok.</p>
<p>Gluten intolerance and celiac aren’t the same thing. Also “allergies” and intolerances aren’t the same thing. Also, our alternative MD treats food reactions as “allergies” but not the same kind that causes anaphylaxis, which is what blood tests test for (and mainstream MD’s look for). Skin tests won’t help either, necessarily.</p>
<p>Trying elimination of several possible offending foods then rechallenging each one separately can make things clearer. I was very surprised to find that dairy was causing my long-term neurological issues, that were actually fairly severe.</p>
<p>Interesting about the dish soap, and possibly helpful…</p>
<p>Yes it does sound like she is “sensitive” rather than having a more severe reaction.
Still it doesn’t take much for your digestion to be upset, and if your food isn’t being digested you also aren’t absorbing nutrients.
Hope she gets it worked out.</p>
<p>I am so sorry you are going through this, we are addressing this with our D a junior in high school. One thought I had on the required meal plan since I am sure they will not let you out, could she take some in a take out container and then cook in her kitchen, like veggies and pasta, stir fry etc. Then she could wash the veggies, use her own pasta,maybe her own meat which I am sure would be better quality. I would also have her load up on pre-packaged items, bottled water, drinks with electrolytes and anything she can safely use for her own cooking.</p>