Dining In Residence Hall At College

[K Lee]

My daughter, who has celiac disease,is a freshman in college and she is required by the university to eat in the cafeteria and purchase a meal plan. I have asked for a list of ingredients for their menu but have gotten no where. Has anyone else had to deal with this? One lady told me that "she needs to take charge of her own health". That is difficult to do when you do not have the tool which is as simple as a list of ingredients. I would appreciate any advice you can give me. She is also a vegetarian. Thanks!

[wildwood]

  On 1/20/2010 at 11:07 PM, K Lee said:

My daughter, who has celiac disease,is a freshman in college and she is required by the university to eat in the cafeteria and purchase a meal plan. I have asked for a list of ingredients for their menu but have gotten no where. Has anyone else had to deal with this? One lady told me that "she needs to take charge of her own health". That is difficult to do when you do not have the tool which is as simple as a list of ingredients. I would appreciate any advice you can give me. She is also a vegetarian. Thanks!

My daughter was a freshman last year. The cafeteria had good intentions, but my daughter got cc'd quite often. She ended up getting an apartment off campus this year. She misses dorm life, but is much happier with the control she has over her food. It really started to stress her towards the end of last year because she found she ate a salad with chicken on it day in and day out because it was the only meal she felt was safe. She did not feel well most of the time. I think it was because she did not have enough variety in her diet. I imagine it is much more difficult for your daughter being a vegetarian also! This year my daughter says she feels fantastic and she said it is a relief not to constantly be stressing about her food. Now she only stresses about homework, exams etc

[ravenwoodglass]

If your daughter has a formal diagnosis the residence hall needs to do one of two things, either make sure they can safely feed her or let her opt out of the meal plan and give her a way to cook for herself. For my DD that meant moving into senior housing her freshman year so she would have a kitchenette. Your school might allow her a frig and microwave in the room or move her to someplace that has someplace for her to cook. Celiac is covered under the ADA so don't let the school BS you into thinking she has to stay on the meal plan.

[K Lee]

  On 1/21/2010 at 2:30 AM, ravenwoodglass said:

If your daughter has a formal diagnosis the residence hall needs to do one of two things, either make sure they can safely feed her or let her opt out of the meal plan and give her a way to cook for herself. For my DD that meant moving into senior housing her freshman year so she would have a kitchenette. Your school might allow her a frig and microwave in the room or move her to someplace that has someplace for her to cook. Celiac is covered under the ADA so don't let the school BS you into thinking she has to stay on the meal plan.

Thank you so much for your reply, I was unaware that celiac falls under ADA rules. She does have a confirmed diagnosis. The University of Miami Office of Disability Services was the one who told me "she needed to get control of her own health" so they are useless. Did you have to deal with a specific office at your college? A nutritionist or counselor of some sort?

[K Lee]

Did the campus dininig service provide her with any special food? UM does not even have one single gluten free cold cereal to offer. I can appreciate how difficult it would be for them to cook gluten free for her. Do you think it would be unreasonable of me to ask them to purchase Amy's entrees to prepare on occasion? Thank you so much for your advice.

[ravenwoodglass]

  On 1/21/2010 at 12:37 PM, K Lee said:

Thank you so much for your reply, I was unaware that celiac falls under ADA rules. She does have a confirmed diagnosis. The University of Miami Office of Disability Services was the one who told me "she needed to get control of her own health" so they are useless. Did you have to deal with a specific office at your college? A nutritionist or counselor of some sort?

I would contact the dean's office, they should be able to guide you. My daughter knew when she applied, her entrance essay was even on dealing with celiac, so the college was all ready with her room in senior housing.

Chances are the college is not going to be able to accomodate her needs at the dining hall so she will need to be able to store and cook her own food. My daughter moved off campus after her freshman year to make things easier.

[ciavyn]

Just to report on my experience. I am an adult attending on-campus residencies to complete my graduate degree. I spoke directly with my advisor and the head of the cafeteria. The cafeteria was willing to do whatever they could to accommodate my needs. I told them what I could and couldn't have, the staff was made aware, and life went on. I was cc'd at least twice that week, though. So while their efforts were amazing, it's still a risk.

I think it's completely reasonable to ask them to provide specific foods as long as they aren't expensive, if they are going to require her to eat on campus. While she does need to "control her own health" to a certain degree, she has to find a way to get the college to work with her, or be allowed to eat on her own. Because of my experience, I will be eating off campus at my next residency. Everyone is wonderful,and I love the kitchen staff because they are so darn helpful, but getting sick is not my idea of fun.

I hope this works out for you. Keep talking to people until you reach the right person. That is what I did. Don't give up and feel frustrated. If they won't work with you, she may need to switch colleges. If money doesn't talk, I don't know what will.