Advocating for inclusive, safe dining for college students with food restrictions
About Us
Our mission is to make college dining safe and inclusive for students with medically required food restrictions.
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Empower Students and Prospective Families:
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Shine a light on college food allergy dining programs
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Create content to help students and prospective families self-advocate
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Provide a platform for students to raise awareness and advocate for change
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Raise Awareness Among College Leadership:
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Educate colleges on ADA legal obligations and urge them to meet the challenge
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Create online content to share best practices, compliance implications, and trends
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Increase collaboration among celiac and food allergy organizations​
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Sheryl Harpel
Founder, Gluten Free Friends
Founder, Sheryl Harpel, created the New Jersey celiac support group, Gluten-Free Friends, in 2009 after five family members were diagnosed with celiac. When children from the group headed to college, many struggled to eat safely in dining halls. Sheryl surveyed college students to help teens "know before they go". This launched the volunteer GFF mission to improve the college experience for all students with medically required food restrictions.​
Sheryl completed Beyond Celiac's Gluten-Free Resource Education Awareness Training (GREAT) and served as a Resource Person for the National Celiac Association from 2019 to 2024. ​
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We'd love to hear from you!
Send us a message through our contact form, email us at info@gfreefriends.com
or message us through our Instagram @gfreefriends!