Ucsb Student In Fall

[robertmoser]

Hey everybody. Im new to this site, but have been diagnosed with celiac for about 2 & a half years.

This fall i will be attending UCSB (class of 2019 wooo); I just received my acceptance this month.

I was wondering if there are any celiacs who attend UCSB out there ? If so contact me I would like to know others like me.

Im nervous for how my dining experience will be there.

Also, any celiacs in SB area ? I would like to know of all the local glisten free friendly spots and good places to shop.

[cyclinglady]

Congratulations on getting accepted. Is SB short for Santa Barbara?

[LauraTX]

Once you get there, maybe you can get a group together of gluten-free people... put up flyers in the dining hall, etc.  It may be a great way to make friends, especially if you live on campus.

[ravenwoodglass]

Congrats on the acceptance. You may want to talk to a supervisor at the dining hall and see if they are 'celiac aware' and what precautions they take to feed you safely. If they can't feed you safely then they may drop the charges related to food on your bill so you can use that money to feed yourself safely. Many years ago they put my DD in senior housing her first year so she would have her own kitchenette but back then there were no gluten free options available at the dining hall at the college she went to. I think more schools and other institutions are a bit more knowledgeable now. 

[kareng]

Find out what they do to feed the gluten-free students.  You may be able to meet people in the dining hall.  For example, at my boys' college, the sandwich station pulls out a purple box with the gluten-free bread, cutting board, etc for a gluten-free person.  My son met girls this way.  

[robertmoser]

@cyclingLady yes it stands for Santa Barbara.

Thank you so much!

@LauraTx ill try that! Hopefully people respond ! Lol

@RavenWoodGlass @Kareng I've been emailing with dietian of the school and she said :

" Hi Robert,

Thanks for contacting me about your dining options. We have four dining commons here on campus, and all dining commons do offer gluten free options. In addition to naturally occurring gluten free options in the dining commons we have 3 gluten free pantries. The pantries are located at De La Guerra, Carrillo and Portola Dining Commons. The pantry is stocked with bread, buns, muffins, cookies, cereal, oatmeal, granola and vegetable leather bars. In addition to the food we also have a dedicated gluten free toaster oven at the three dining commons.

In order to figure out if the food offered in the dining commons is gluten free we have an online program called NetNutrition: https://netnutrition.housing.ucsb.edu/NetNutrition/1#. You can filter dining common options by No Gluten Containing Ingredients to see what options are acceptable to consume. I do want to let you know that we have bakeries in all of our dining commons. Therefore, we cannot guarantee that options are gluten free in the dining commons.

In order to gain access to the pantry I do require you to fill out an application, which includes your medical documentation saying that you have celiac disease or gluten sensitivity. If you decide to go here I can provide you with the application.

Best of luck deciding!"

When i also contacted her about the cross contimination she said, " ... All of our cooks are Serv Safe (good for 5 years). Additionally, we do own internal training every three years. Our student cooks also go through an allergy training. We do understand the importance of preventing cross contamination and make every effort to prevent it. "

It sound safe? Lol im a bit nervous just BC for my last few years in high school, I ate at home 90% of the time and I've been in control of my cooking.

[cyclinglady]

I think it is about as safe as you are going to get at a university. Are the baked goods certified and prepackaged? Where are the gluten-free toaster ovens kept? Is someone going to throw in gluten-containing toast in the gluten-free toaster oven to save time? Are they baking gluten-free baked goods in dedicated areas using gluten-free equipment?

Can you go in a tour?

Can you cook in the dorm shared kitchen? Then bring a bin of cooking stuff to stash in your room.

It irks me that the university requires you to purchase a meal plan, yet they can not guarantee a gluten-free meal fit for a person with celiac disease. Not sure that UC schools require this but CSU schools do. Search within this forum as this topic has come up in the past.

Hummm... I am going to research this myself!

But, I can say that we survived a Baltic Sea cruise and a two week trip to England. My husband travels for work. So, it can be done.

Let's see what others have to say.

[cyclinglady]

Hey, there is an In N Out less than four miles away! We eat there safely! Tell them you have a gluten allergy.

[robertmoser]

I think it is about as safe as you are going to get at a university. Are the baked goods certified and prepackaged? Where are the gluten-free toaster ovens kept? Is someone going to throw in gluten-containing toast in the gluten-free toaster oven to save time? Are they baking gluten-free baked goods in dedicated areas using gluten-free equipment?

Can you go in a tour?

Can you cook in the dorm shared kitchen? Then bring a bin of cooking stuff to stash in your room.

It irks me that the university requires you to purchase a meal plan, yet they can not guarantee a gluten-free meal fit for a person with celiac disease. Not sure that UC schools require this but CSU schools do. Search within this forum as this topic has come up in the past.

Hummm... I am going to research this myself!

But, I can say that we survived a Baltic Sea cruise and a two week trip to England. My husband travels for work. So, it can be done.

Let's see what others have to say.

I plan on visiting the school again sometime this week or next, so i will try to find out all this info from the kitchen staff and dietician there! Once I find out, i will post back on here for any future UCSB students

I want to tried to actively keep updated posts about my experiences there so maybe I can help out a scared/stressed celiac like myself lol

[kareng]

I plan on visiting the school again sometime this week or next, so i will try to find out all this info from the kitchen staff and dietician there! Once I find out, i will post back on here for any future UCSB students

I want to tried to actively keep updated posts about my experiences there so maybe I can help out a scared/stressed celiac like myself lol

 

 

I would suggest that when you visit, see if you can just hang out in the cafeteria and watch.  If you see someone going in to the gluten-free area - ask them about their experiences. When I was touring colleges with my youngest - we would stop kids and ask them questions and none of them seem to mind (or at least they were all polite about it!  )

[robertmoser]

I would suggest that when you visit, see if you can just hang out in the cafeteria and watch. If you see someone going in to the gluten-free area - ask them about their experiences. When I was touring colleges with my youngest - we would stop kids and ask them questions and none of them seem to mind (or at least they were all polite about it! )

That will probably be a great way for me to find another celiac ! Thanks for the advice

[Pauliewog]

Will you be on a 2 meal a day plan or 3? If you are on a 2 meal a day plan and you can keep a mini fridge in your room then you can always have yogurt, gluten-free cereal, peanut butter, etc. You can make at least one meal on your own.

[robertmoser]

Will you be on a 2 meal a day plan or 3? If you are on a 2 meal a day plan and you can keep a mini fridge in your room then you can always have yogurt, gluten-free cereal, peanut butter, etc. You can make at least one meal on your own.

I was going to buy the 17 swipes per week mean plan, but now im doing the unlimited one ! But thanks for the advice

[Angie Sheets]

I just wanted to know how your experience went now that you have graduated? My daughter is wanting to go to UCSB in the fall and has Celiac Disease.  Any tips would be great!

[cyclinglady]

2 hours ago, Angie Sheets said:

I just wanted to know how your experience went now that you have graduated? My daughter is wanting to go to UCSB in the fall and has Celiac Disease.  Any tips would be great!

Hi Angie!

I too am curious.  I have reached out to this student via private message a while back but no response.  

My daughter is at another UC school.  She does not have celiac disease, but she does have some of my intolerances involving onions, peppers, and garlic (we both have Acne Rosacea and these foods are a trigger this and they also cause GI upset).  

She is a freshman and has a 100 meal plan.  We knew that like being on a cruise, you can get sick of the food options fast.  She has a dorm fridge from Costco with a freezer.  I do prepare her some frozen meals and drop them off when we take her to dinner on the weekends.    We got her a bin of pots, pans, toaster, colender, etc.  She cooks in the dorm kitchen.  It works out well as she eats breakfast like yogurt, oatmeal, chia pudding and eggs.  Her classes are around noon, so she packs a lunch.  She eats dinner with friends in the cafeteria.  On the weekends that she does not come home, she cooks simple meals.  

Three weeks into the quarter and she has decided that she will not purchase a meal plan at all, but we shall see. 

Be sure to actually tour the campus or take to food service or disability group.  

Good luck on the application process.  

Edited October 15, 2019 by cyclinglady