Food Allergy-Friendly Colleges Archives

Allergy-Friendly Campus Guide: Scripps College

The Scripps dining hall was initially less than ideal for food allergies, but they were really receptive to my suggestions about improving their allergy policy and putting some changes in place. At the Claremont Colleges, you are also allowed to eat at any of the colleges’ dining halls, so I have found it not that difficult to find safe on-campus food options! Location: Claremont, California

Allergy-Friendly Campus Guide: Smith College

As a Smith alum, I recommend Smith for food allergic students, depending on your allergies and dietary restrictions. Smith’s dining system is more accommodating to food allergies because it is not centralized. Labeling of food ingredients and common allergens is usually correct and staff are always willing to answers your questions! Location: Northampton, Massachusetts

Campus Guide: Stanford University

"Every dining hall on Stanford's campus is diligent about making sure all allergen information is available for every meal and about answering questions when it is ambiguous. If you walk down University Ave. there are about a hundred different places to eat and all of them have allergy friendly menus. Most of the coffee shops on campus stay away from allergens all together, except dairy/gluten." See Howard's top allergy-friendly picks around the Stanford University campus!

Allergy-Friendly Campus Guide: Syracuse University

I’m a rising junior at Syracuse and I have had nothing but great experiences with Syracuse dining. Their menu is all listed online and if you click on the item, it shows you the nutritional information and the allergens. If for some reason there is a food that’s out at the dining hall that isn’t on the online menu, there is usually a QR code on it that will take you to the nutritional info and allergen info. Definitely make friends with the dining hall managers—they are willing and able to help! There is also an on-campus nutritionist that handles allergies and she is a great resource for helping to navigate your allergies. Also, when you fill out your housing form if you choose to have a random roommate, if you say that you have allergies on the form about special accommodations, they can try to pair you with a roommate who also has allergies! I was unaware of that my freshman year but I wish I had been because it would’ve taken away a lot of stress! Overall, I love Syracuse and am so happy that the food situation hasn’t held me back from enjoying everything that the campus has to offer! Location: Syracuse, New York

Allergy-Friendly Thomas Jefferson University Campus Guide

I am a sophomore in the PA program at Thomas Jefferson University and had to be on the 19 meal a week dining plan for my entire first year. My family and I met the dining staff, including the manager and chefs of all the dining halls, in the beginning of the year. I was able to eat on campus on move in day and was so excited to have the independence and freedom eating away from home. My process would be to email or text the chef three times a day with whatever I wanted for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. This was tedious, challenging, and took a lot of time-management/trial and error, but it was the easiest way for the chefs to hand make my food. However, I did have two anaphylactic reactions in my fall semester because of mistakes in the dining hall, but they quickly changed the process with which they made my food. For example, the dining manager and head chef met with me and created a paper specific to my needs where the chef making my food had to sign off on the ingredients they used in my meal. Christopher Grant, the head chef, is amazing and I have never had any issues eating his or his Sous Chef, Steve’s, food. They’ve made me meals from salmon bowls, to ramen, to Philly Cheesesteaks, to shrimp scampi, and everything tastes so good. With that being said, I would recommend to someone with more severe allergies to commute or request a kitchen, because there will be human error in a college dining hall and it is difficult to prevent when there are many students. However, Jefferson has treated me well and I am well-acquainted with all of the kitchen staff. You must take the steps to meet with the chefs and speak up when you see something or have questions, which is all part of advocating for yourself. I also fought to get a single apartment for my second year so that I would not have any issues with cross contact in the kitchen with roommates and with the help of Student Accessibility Services, it all worked out and I have had a wonderful experience (and no hospital visits!) this year.

Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Campus Guide: Tufts University

See Justin's top allergy-friendly picks around the Tufts University campus!

Allergy-Friendly Tulane University Campus Guide

I met with a dietitian to go over everything I need to know about how to handle my severe peanut and tree nut allergies in college (I’m attending Tulane University in the fall) and not only are the cafeterias peanut and tree nut-free, they also have a section and a room (being built for fall 2019) where it’s completely nut-free and gluten-free. The school is Allertrained, which means a lot, and are very careful with cross contamination. Wow. Feel so safe going here.

Location: New Orleans, Louisiana

Allergy-Friendly Campus Guide: Tulane University

I had an amazing experience at Tulane! I ate so many times at the Hillel which had some of my allergens and they were always so careful and considerate. The dining hall has a specific area without major allergens that are always safe. I loved my time at Tulane and highly recommend! Location: New Orleans, Louisiana

Allergy-Friendly Campus Guide: University of Arizona

The dining hall is not set up in typical buffet or line style dining. There are separate establishments that rent out the areas within our dining area (Chick-Fil-A, Papa Johns, Steak + Shake, Panda Express, Einstein Bagels, etc). This makes it a bit easier to navigate with food allergies since menu items don’t typically change. There are a few non-chain restaurants in the dining centers, but the workers are all knowledgeable and willing to help (usually, they will get a manager for you to speak with). There is one all-you-can-eat restaurant, Pangea, that is self-serve. Each dish has a name card with the ingredients that are in the dish! Amazing! Location: Tuscon, Arizona

Allergy-Friendly University of California: Berkeley Campus Guide

Overall I would say my allergies at the UC Berkeley dining halls were pretty manageable. As they say on the website, the Big-8 allergens are listed on the menu signage in units and the online menu. If you have severe allergies, I would always ask, just to be safe. In terms of restaurants in the area, I would check those specific reviews on Spokin! For the most part, I have had a pretty safe experience, but if there’s a dish that I am suspicious might have something I am allergic to, I will double check on that dish specifically.