University of Michigan
“I am currently a freshman at the University of Michigan – Ann Arbor Campus. Overall, I have had a very positive experience dealing with my food allergies while being here. First and foremost, the school was very helpful in setting me up for success before I even stepped foot on campus as a student. When I toured my during my sophomore year of high school, I met with one of the campus dietitians, Kathryn Whiteside, to tour one of the dining halls, learn about allergy protocols, and ask all of mine (and my parents’) burning questions. Once I applied and was accepted into the school, I began my journey with housing. Though it was a long journey of getting medical records filed and disability accommodations done, I wound up being able to transfer from my original housing location to one that was better suited for my needs. Then, I scheduled a meeting for move-in weekend with another campus dietician to walk through what would be my main dining hall and meet the chefs, ask some more questions, and really get a feel for what my day-to-day life was going to look like eating there. During this meeting, I learned that there are some products in the dining hall that I won’t be able to eat (like the burger buns and sandwich bread) because of my allergens, so I learned how to navigate that as well. For me, that looks like asking the staff behind the counter to give me a burger patty, or sandwich fillings, without the bread due to my allergens, and they are always very kind and considerate about it. All of the stands have allergen menu cards, but more in-depth nutritional information can be found on the dining website for every station at every dining hall each day. Plus, all dining halls on campus have stocked epinephrine, so I have always felt safe going to eat. The stadiums on campus do have a ban on all bags entering, however there is a medical exemption process that you can go through to bring your EpiPens and other medical supplies into the stadium. All of the food vendors in the stadiums also have QR codes to scan for allergens on all products. Overall, I have had an extremely positive experience at the University of Michigan, and have never felt as though my allergies made it impossible for me to get the full college experience. ”
Crisler Center
“Scannable QR codes for allergen information at all stands.”
East Quad Dining Hall
“Staff is always willing to give you things from behind the line without certain ingredients. I am a frequent user of the burger station where I can’t eat the bread and always request the patty with fries.”
Michigan Creamery
“Beyond delicious ice cream! Though they do have nuts, but if you tell them you have an allergy, they use a new scoop and get an entirely new case from the back to scoop from. My favorite sweet treat to get when I’m not at the dining hall!”
Michigan Stadium
“Each food station has a QR code to scan to see allergy and nutrition information.”
Palio Ann Arbor
“Made sure to inform us that the bread they used had cross-contamination risk due to the bakery. They also informed us that they used that bread in their meatballs as well so we knew the risks of each meal.”
The Chop House Ann Arbor
“Delicious escape from dining hall food. Highly recommend when family is in town. They made sure to inform me that the popovers didn’t have any of my allergens and ensured me that my order was safe.”
The Hen Ann Arbor
“My favorite brunch place in Ann Arbor! They made sure to tell me all of the cross contact risks with their bread when I ordered toast.”
Yost Ice Arena
“QR codes with allergen information available at each stand.”
