Strategies for Navigating University Dining Plans

[Tracy N]

I'm trying to get a jump on the conversation with my dd's intended university that requires a meal plan for incoming freshmen. They are incredibly unhelpful, which is shocking. They offer discounts on the meal plan to students with Celiac disease(!). They have one allergen-free station on the other side of campus from dd's dorm - a 15 minute walk, which if you've ever lived through an Ohio winter, can be miserable at best. What do I do? Right now I'm thinking of driving 5 hours once a week to stock up her mini-fridge with food I've prepared (but you can't fit much in those dorm fridges). And sending lots of gluten-free pantry items. I'm really anxious. It's University of Cincinatti, btw. Anyone have any experience dealing with U of Cinci?

[trents]

I'm not sure if you could pull this off and it would require a lot of diligence but I was wondering if you could make arrangements with the dietary office at the U to send you weekly menus so that you could anticipate what your daughter would need to avoid and what might be safe that is being served . . . and what you would need to ask questions about. What is the format of the food delivery system there. When I was in my university training 50 years ago there were 2-3 large community on campus dining facilities (cafeteria style) and a few after hours snack bars on campus. But I think much has changed over time.

How sensitive to CC (cross contamination) is your daughter? Is she motivated to diligence in her gluten free eating?

Edited May 8, 2023 by trents

[Tracy N]

1 minute ago, trents said:

I'm not sure if you could pull this off and it will require a lot of diligence but I was wondering if you could make arrangements with the dietary office at the U to send you weekly menus so that you could anticipate what your daughter would need to avoid and what might be safe that is being served . . . and what you would need to ask questions about. What is the format of the food delivery system there. When I was in my university training 50 years ago there were 2-3 large community on campus dining facilities (cafeteria style) and a few after hours snack bars on campus. But I think much has changed over time.

This is an effort I would 100% be willing to do - just wonder if dd would be open to it. (but that's an issue for another day - celiac kids spreading their wings. lol!) They publish daily menus on their website for the various dining halls. I have reached out to the Director of Dining Services and they referred me to an on-campus dietician. Which is fine and appreciated, but we've been gluten-free for 8 years now, my daughter knows what she's doing. U of Cinci is still traditional in that they have about 3 main dining halls but do have a Chik-Fil-A on campus which I generally consider safe because of their use of a dedicated fryer for fries.

[trents]

Does she have the option of moving off campus after the freshman year?

[Scott Adams]

Not to discourage you from helping your daughter, but driving that much in an Ohio winter can also be dangerous. I am just wondering if there is a safer way to deal with this. 

Could she be a member and do the meal plan while the weather is good, then switch to a different option during the colder months? Could you do mail order meals, or could she stock up at a local store on frozen meals?

Just some thoughts. 

[Tracy N]

12 minutes ago, Scott Adams said:

Not to discourage you from helping your daughter, but driving that much in an Ohio winter can also be dangerous. I am just wondering if there is a safer way to deal with this. 

Could she be a member and do the meal plan while the weather is good, then switch to a different option during the colder months? Could you do mail order meals, or could she stock up at a local store on frozen meals?

Just some thoughts. 

You’re right, considering it’s 4 hours one way that’s not the best option. I like your idea of mail order gluten-free meals. I’ve used Hello Fresh in the past with success. I’ll look into that.