“May I have the house salad, no croutons, please?”
“I’ll take the burger, no bun, please!”
“Hi, do you happen to have a gluten-free menu?”
Dining as someone with celiac disease is no small feat. Especially having this disease, rather than just an intolerance, it is critical to avoid gluten-containing ingredients and cross-contamination. The risk can be days or even weeks or stomach aches, fatigue, brain fog, and several other symptoms. It is a life full of closely checking labels, having to deny surprise snacks, and making special requests at restaurants. It can be an inconvenience, nerve wracking, and embarrassing.
A solution to this dietary barrier is often to find “safe meals” that are frequently available and safe in terms of ingredients. For example, in the dining hall, I can often rely upon chicken and rice being offered or having a salad. However, this can become repetitive and unexciting, and even lack the correct nutrients for a balanced diet as someone with celiac disease. This can make people facing dietary restrictions feel frustrated and sometimes, hungry.
Luckily, Penn State campus dining has found a strong solution to provide a variety of options for specific allergies! Their advance ordering provides a plethora of exciting meals and snacks that account for several different allergens. This caters to the needs of students with peanut, egg, gluten, and other allergies, as well as specific diets by offering vegetarian meals, for example.
This feature makes special requests feel much more secure for diners avoiding allergens. They can open the Penn State Go app, select dining, navigate to “Order Allergen-Friendly or Vegan Items,” and complete a form that indicates what items you would like to order, what allergens to avoid, and when you would like to receive your food at which dining commons. It can be ordered to any location at almost any time. There is no confusion and the written form ensures strong communication to the kitchen about the needs for customer safety.
While it is an inconvenience to be required to order at least an hour ahead, it is understandably necessary to the system. These specialty orders require additional preparation and retrieval of ingredients. It makes sense to be deliberate about these orders and stocking or preparing items since gluten-free items tend to be more expensive, meaning any food waste would be more financially detrimental for the dining system.
I have learned to plan ahead accordingly and been able to test some delicious gluten-free options. Penn State offers gluten-free pastas, pizzas, pretzels, cookies, and so much more. The menu ranges from snacks, to full meals, to desserts, all of which have been entirely satisfactory, in my opinion.
Due to the convenience of this option, certainty of safety, and variety of gluten-free foods, I award the Penn State advance ordering function a 5 star GF rating.
Sources
tmd6040
March 22, 2024 — 2:26 pm
I never knew about this advance ordering system at Penn State. It does sound very useful and fairly convenient, all things considered. I wonder if this was something you considered when you chose Penn State? You say that refusing things or asking for modifications because of celiac disease can be embarrassing, and that makes sense. It would be better if it wasn’t, but I think it is natural for us to be embarrassed when we feel like we are putting a burden on someone else (even if we really aren’t).
Vivienne Booz
March 22, 2024 — 2:47 pm
Wow, I’m really impressed to hear how helpful this tool is for making celiac-friendly dining easy and accessible. I’m glad that Penn State has put so much thought into allergy sensitive dining options, even though it takes a little more effort on their end. After working for a few months in a food service job, I can attest to the extra time and attention that goes into special orders. Your post reminded me that even though food allergies aren’t a concern for me, they greatly impact the lives of many students. It’s important to remember that providing a safe and nutritious meal to every student is worth the extra time that may go into making it. Thanks for this informative post!
Kate Chiulli
April 12, 2024 — 2:41 pm
I’m glad to hear that Penn State has been accommodating in providing celiac-friendly meals at the dining halls! I have a friend at another college with severe food allergies, and before the year began, she communicated directly with the chefs on campus to develop a special meal plan that would meet her specific needs; it is absolutely critical that all colleges be able to take extra steps to help students navigate food allergies. I was also happy to see that the dining section of the Penn State Go app was recently redesigned so one can click directly on a certain food item and be brought to a list of ingredients and nutrition facts; I wonder if this has made your dining experience any easier.