Food allergy friendly colleges?

[giddey_up]

I just went on a tour of Loyola University in New Orleans with D#2, and they mentioned that the food service has a system that would record any food allergies the student may have, and a system that would send warnings via email or text advising them what dishes to avoid in the cafeteria that day.

[sr1234]

Funny- we just finished moving our food allergic son into school today. We thought that we had been preparing for this day for several years. We did visit back in April and spoke with the nutritionist- we were assurred that the school was prepared to deal with any food allergy. When we arrived on campus this week, we met with the nutritionist and the foodservice managers. Taking into consideration that it was probably the worst time to expect personal attention(busiest week of the year- typical freshman orientation community lunches and dinners), we did feel confident that he would be able to communicate his needs, with a lot of proactivity on his part to plan menus. I would say that they are willing to work with you, but if you are a parent of a food-allergic child, by the time they are this age, you know the correct responses and how to achieve them(whether through foodservice or disability services). As far as the day-to-day, he is supposed to email his desired lunch and dinner from several suggested menu options, by 9 AM to the manager, who will make the preparations and have his meals ready for him to pick up when he goes to the dining hall for lunch and dinner. His major allergy is eggs, with the others being tree nuts and shellfish. The biggest concern is the type of serving line(full or self-serve)- this is where the cross-contamination can most likely occur- for instance, the toast/bread area; the foodservice manager shows us that the bread is egg-free, but the bread is all stacked in a rack with bagels(eggs) and raisin-walnut bread(eggs and nuts) that are both not good, and all of it is handled by the students, and the whole toaster area is a mess. After we pointed this out to him(!), he agreed to provide bread products from closed packages in the kitchen. In conclusion, I would say that regardless of any "system", use the same caution that you have with all the grade and high school foodservice professionals- the squeaky wheel......

[snowball]

My daughter has/had the same problem with the bread and bagels. She is allergic to peanuts, and the peanut butter, cream cheese and butter sit in large containers with several knives stuck in them by the breads. When she wants cream cheese she goes to the line and they hand her a couple of individual servings that they must use when they sent breakfast to faculty. While she hates having to go and ask for what she wants each time, she knows this is the safest for her.

[sr1234]

Well...after a week at college ...my son has been handling 2 meals a day (with one near miss - which dining services and the nutritionist responded to VERY satisfactorily). The key seems to be COMMUNICATION, COMMUNICATION, COMMUNICATION!! Depending on the seriousness of the food allergy and the college, your child will have to be an expert in letting dining services know exactly what they want to eat and when they want to eat it. For those not yet in college and concerned - FAAN (Food Allergy and Anaphlaxis Network) is a great resource and their Teen Summit (held in November in Washington DC) is a wonderful and important tool for giving a food allergic teen the resources they need to cope with the various challenges related to high school and college .

[lesann]

I am in Long Island, NY with the same problem.We have decided to apply to schools and not tell them about the allergies until she gets accepted. In the meantime , we have done some research on campus ourselves.I hear the Ivy League schools are helpful. Someone told me Brown does a great job. It would be really helpful if my daughter could find other students with the same problem. She is always told she is the only one with this . If there were some kind of a matching service prospective students could try to room together. We have been looking at schools near our home so I can be available for emergencies. I never depend on what I am told by "food handlers". We have had too many mistakes in the past. We pretty much have our food routine down but it requires alot of planning and preparation. Can you tell me where you have looked at schools and if you are near us?Lesann

[rodney]

lesann: I can only help with the schools I have had experience with, and I have a feeling they wouldn't be on your radar screen.....I will tell you of experiences we have had....My younger daughter has Celiac disease; she is 15, but accompanied her older sister on college visits....at every school, we asked about dietary restrictions. There were only two schools who knew what we were talking about when we asked: Colgate and Syracuse.

Some schools are more proactive than others in regard to food issues: It does take alot of communication.....

When my older D enrolled at Syracuse this year, the entire family accompanied her to move-in. Upon arrival at the dining hall, the supervisor took my YOUNGER daughter around to show her what she could eat...mind you, this was NOT the student who enrolled, but a sibling....that surely said something to us about proactivity and knowledge......In addition, they stock specific gluten-free foods for students and have a Celiac support group.....

Each school needs to be investigated IN DETAIL prior to enrollment; we will have alot of work to do when D2 starts the process....If you choose to apply without doing that work, that's your decision.....but given the dicey admissions season, you could end up in a school that is weak on accomodations....

[peanutfree]

Also check out the state/local laws related to emergency first responders and whether or not they are allowed to carry/inject epinephrine. Some states do not allow first responders to inject epinephrine and the minutes lost if a student does not have their Epi-Pen could be crucial.
I agree with rodney - don't wait until after you receive an acceptance to discuss your food allergy concerns. You should ask to speak with a Nutritionist, Dining Services Manager and Housing Director at some point during the application process and at a college visit. Some schools are definitely more responsive than others, and you may rule out applying to a school based on their ability to address your concerns.

[sr1234]

To echo Rodney - From our experiences with the admissions process, I would definitely discuss food allergies before making a decision on a school - unless the school was very close to home. We visited several campuses and found that the level of knowledge was all over the board. One director knew about food allergies but did not know what anaphylaxis was!

We are now just over 1000 miles away from the school my son is attending (he is in Mass. we are in Illinois) and we needed the reassurance that this was the correct decision for him. We talked extensively with the nutritionist on campus and were satisfied that this was someone my son could work with. They have a plan in place for food allergic students and even though he is the only one on campus with his particular allergy...so far so good. Of course it requires discussions and emails, and your child has to be proactive as well - not afraid to speak up or advocate for themselves, be willing to always carry epinepherine , not be embarassed by their situation and not take unnecessary risks just so that people don't find out about their allergies. To be honest, this was probably the most stressful time of my life.

Lesann, I understand your situation completely - I have a hard time trusting food handlers also. And my son always felt like he was the only one with food allergies. It was not until he attended the FAAN teen summit that he realized there were many kids like him - including Girls! His age! Cute ones!

I also agree with peanutfree about first responders. The campus emergency services carry epineherine and are allowed to use it. Also re: housing - we worked with disability services AFTER he made his decision to attend. The school does forced triples and we wanted him in a double (he wanted the roommate experience). They matched my son with somone who is allergic to peanuts - funny because peanut butter sandwiches are his fall-back food. Not any more, lol. Like the gift of the Magi.

Disability services will also be your resource if you needed further help with food services so it helps to have them on board from the beginning.

Also - I have heard that Colgate was good with food allergies

Hope this helps anyone who is beginning to look at schools...

[katytibbs]

My son is a HS senior with allergies to dairy, nuts and shellfish.

When we were looking at schools, we tried to eat in the cafeteria and judge the food choices.

Some things we found:

Cornell had ingredient lists on everything! Had a kosher station, a stir fry station.
Guilford is very allergy friendly - they have a special gluten free area
Colgate only had one choice at lunch for my son - a turkey sandwich

My son wants a school where there are lots of choices (not just one, like Colgate) and wants for it to not be a big deal for him to get the food he needs. Luckily, his RAST results for milk are down in the somewhat normal range (after having been off the scale when he was age 2) so the allergies are unlikely to be life-threatening any more. Cross contamination is much less of an issue than it was.

However, he did fail his most recent skin test, so he is still allergic.

He was also positive to schools that had on campus fast food options like Subway, McDonalds, etc, because it gives him choices.

He has been to summer programs (started in 7th grade) at the following schools that were able to safely accomadate his needs:

U Mass Amherst (but boring food)
Virginia Tech (good labeling and good variety - has food stations, and a special vegetarian section)
Vassar (but boring food)

I love the thought of using the food allergies to get permission for him to have a car so he can get what he needs.