It used to be that colleges had a one meal plan fit all ideology. Yet there are more and more students who don;t fit this. They could have nut allergies, be vegan or have religious restrictions. The meal plan has to change to fit the student body's needs.
Regular contributor and chef Priya Krishna wrote about this in yesterday's New York Times Food section. Years ago many a handful of students were allergic to peanuts or couldn;t eat various baked goods. Now one in six students have dietary demands as opposed to the one in eight just a few years ago. Now students can have customized plans, thanks to campus dietticians creating different dishes and opening up allergen free cafes. The students should come first. Most meal plans cost around $5,023 according to a 2022 report from the Department of ducation. some schools such as Vanderbilt University has a cafe that bars te F.D.A;'s top nine allergens. another dinign hall is free of peanuts, tree nuts and gluten along with an app that lets students with allergies customize their meals.Other schools have made similar moves but there are some colleges that simply list their ingredients and offers bins of alternative choices like gluten free bread and dairy free yogurt.
There is always a debate about how far college dinign halls shou;d go with accomodating their students. robert Nelsom, the chief executive of the National association for College and Universuty Food Services said that some dining hall managers argue that it's better for affected students to learn to navigate a convential bufffet. After all they'll have to do it once they graduate and enter the workforce. This may make sense to some students who find their school's dining ha;; choices adqequate however there are many who do have serious problems. Yale senior Maria Bambrick Santayo, a celiac disease sufferer only had six symptom free days where she didn't feel sick from eating. Students would mix up spoons whioch lead to cross contamination. A busy kitchen can't guarantee that bits of flour will also fall in gluten free dishes University of Virgnia graduate Erica Kem had all sorts of allergies , including beef, sesame mustard and tomatoes. The school didnt address these unusual allergies. her parents had to make her meals. Luckily there is a board created by two Northwestern students. Kethan Bajaj and Julia Auerbach. Their College advocates For Food Allergy Awareness and Education.
College dining halls are not what they once were with simple meal plans. They are changing to fit students' needs and wants. Doing this will make student life easier.
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