By Sheryl Harpel, Founder of Gluten Free Friends Parents and counselors do their best to guide teens toward colleges where they will thrive and meet their goals. Balancing dreams, acceptance chances, and financial aid, high school seniors apply to their target list and roll the dice. Eventually, decisions are made and they joyfully wear college sweatshirts. Those with celiac or food allergies may have unknowingly entered into another game of chance that they hadn't even considered. “After I realized I wouldn't be able to eat in the dining halls without getting sick, I was willing to give up on the dining halls and prepare my own food...I had to send over 100 emails, lead over 20 meetings...to get special permission to not be on the meal plan…I know several people who got tired of making constant requests and now are both paying for a meal plan AND buying all of their own food.”  A recent Yale University graduate, GFF College Dining Survey, January 2024  (2) An estimated 7-11% of students have food restrictions, some potentially life-threatening.(1) Although medically required food restrictions are considered disabilities under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), dining capabilities vary dramatically by school. An integral part of social life, campus meal plans are often mandatory and can cost as much as $9K/year.(3) Some students have few or no issues. Others are surprised to find themselves on a constant search for safe, nutritious food. A lack of allergy-friendly dining can become a tremendous burden and surveyed students report physical and mental health crises, medical leaves, and transferring schools.(2) How unjust and ridiculous that dining can turn a dream school into a nightmare! Discuss food restrictions early in the college search, and persuade students to “know before they go.” Understandably, students may downplay or resent having to add food concerns to an already stressful college search process. Gently explain that although they can decide how much to weigh safe dining into their final decision, being informed will empower them to succeed on campus. The more they understand dining programs and housing options, the more specific and helpful accommodation requests can be. At decision time, help them compare how dietary needs could be managed at their top choices so they can factor it in along with other considerations. Resist the urge to recommend going Early Decision or committing before thoroughly vetting dining programs. Personal circumstances can cause students to report drastically different dining experiences at the same school. A school may support some food allergies better than others. Students without financial resources could face dire food insecurity when mandatory meal plans don’t feed them safely, while others have unlimited Amazon and UberEATS budgets. Students also have different allergen sensitivities, exposure consequences, comfort with self-advocacy, and service expectations. Take the time to understand students’ unique situations. (See: A or F? For Students with Food Restrictions, Scoring College Dining is Personal) Trusting sources that state which food allergy dining programs are good or bad is risky. Service quality can change quickly, for better or worse, and every student is different. There aren't any shortcuts. Students must independently assess the current situation with their needs in mind, researching dining plans, housing options, and support systems at each school under serious consideration. Do not assume anything based on private versus public, big versus small, acceptance rates, or food service vendors. The main thing schools with good programs have in common is that they care and are committed to meeting the needs of their students with dietary restrictions. Although this commitment to excellence may not look the same at each school, clues should be apparent in every student interaction, from online menus to well-trained dining staff. See if schools are proactively asking students to register food restrictions. Is a dietician available to help? Try to assess the difficulty of finding safe, nutritious food anywhere on campus without thinking about it. What dining and housing are mandatory, and what escape hatches are there if it doesn’t work out? When can students have access to a kitchen and not rely on dining halls? Parents and counselors should encourage students to learn enough to envision their daily food routines to see if they can cobble together a solution that works for them. Set up dining hall tours with dining managers, virtually if necessary. Ask to be connected with other students managing similar food restrictions or look for them in the dining halls by the allergy-friendly sections. Ideally, try eating there. Identify and visit the dorms with kitchens. What health services are available on campus or nearby? Go into town to check out the restaurants and supermarkets, and ask about delivery options. Spread our GFF College Dining Survey, and post our GFF Campus Flyer on campus bulletin boards to help get student feedback. During this process, define accommodation requests that might help close any identified gaps and talk to the dietitian and Student Accessibility Services to see how willing they are to grant these requests. After committing, remind students to register medically required food restrictions just like they would register learning differences, and to pay particular attention to housing accommodation deadlines. Considering the dietary needs of these students is the only responsible approach. Even if students decide to make do with poor dining programs, they will be armed with enough information to ask for dorms with a kitchen or near the allergy-friendly dining hall, reduced meal plans, permission to have a car freshman year, or increased meal plan bucks in campus grocery stores. Factor in dietary needs early and set your students up for success on campus! Supporting slides from Presentation for Education Consultants: See student dining feedback and college news. Related blog posts: A or F? For Students with Food Restrictions, Scoring College Dining is Personal Celiac Complicates Your College Search How Well Does Your College Meet the Gluten-Free and Food Allergy Challenge? Meet the Gluten-Free Challenge from College Search to Campus Gluten-Free at College? Yes, It's Possible! Vanderbilt Alum Starts Beyond Celiac College Program to Spread Food Allergy Advocacy Considering Gluten-Free Dining Needs During My College Search 1. Sicherer, Scott H, MD, FAAAAI. Food allergy in college and university students: Overview and management. UpToDate. Jan 10, 2022. https://www.uptodate.com/contents/food-allergy-in-college-and-university-students-overview-and-management. Accessed April 6, 2024. 2. GFF College Dining Survey Responses. Gluten Free Friends https://www.gfreefriends.com/colleges Accessed April 6, 2024 3. Wood, Sarah. Paying for Meals at College: What to Know About Costs. U.S. News and World Report. Feb. 9, 2022. https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/paying-for-college/articles/paying-for-meals-at-college-what-to-know-about-costs. Accessed April 6, 2024.

By Marianna Rieser I am in my fourth and final year of pharmacy school at Drake University. Due to peanut, tree nut, and egg allergies, I always carry epinephrine, antihistamines, and tons of snacks. Pharmacy school is demanding, and finding time to prepare meals and source snacks is challenging. It has tested me both mentally and physically but I am happy with the progress I have made. During my first three years of pharmacy school, I took classes in a traditional college setting, usually packing my lunch, eating at home before class, or treating myself to Chipotle. This final year, I instead rotate to clinics, hospitals, and retail pharmacies, and will continue to go to different practice sites until graduation. It has been fun, but full of constant changes, as I adjust from class to a traditional work environment. I have been surprised to find that many medical facilities are not allergy-friendly. Places may have some pre-packaged or frozen food options, but a hot nutritious meal is difficult to find. There is a lack of knowledge about cross-contamination, severity, and the correct labeling of items. Medical centers really should have healthy pre-packaged top 9 allergen-free options readily available to patients, visitors, and workers. The lack of safe food available is disappointing. However, this presents a great opportunity for medical facilities to distinguish themselves from other institutions by better catering to food allergy needs. Individuals may seek care at a particular hospital for treatment or surgery, knowing that dietary restrictions can safely be met. Many of these medical facilities also have nuts around, which concerns me. The treats and snacks in break rooms and other areas often contain nuts, and I worry that people will eat these items and then proceed to touch surfaces, medications, and equipment without washing their hands, putting patients and others with food allergies at risk. I have even observed nuts and other allergens in workplace areas that are supposed to be free of food and drink altogether. This is frightening and standards within medical facilities should be better enforced to account for allergens and contamination. On rotations, I have not had much time to cook meals, and the lack of on-site safe options has been challenging. Due to my time constraints, I have had to shift my focus towards finding items that need little to no cooking time. While making time to cook healthy and filling meals can be challenging, this process has enriched my creativity and time management skills. I enjoy visiting different grocery stores on the weekends to find new items to pack. Managing the stress and workload of pharmacy school in addition to food allergies, has been a huge breakthrough for me! I have learned to communicate more effectively about my allergies, better advocate for my needs, and educate others. Most friends I have met in pharmacy school have been very supportive. One benefit of pharmacy school is that all my friends are trained in using epinephrine, so they are prepared to act if I ever have a reaction. I am thankful for my pharmacy education. It is empowering to have a deeper knowledge and understanding of food allergies, the different types of hypersensitivity reactions, and available medications. Understanding scientific analysis also enables me to interpret research and determine the positive and negative factors in a clinical trial. It is great to look at published studies and make conclusions from the data. I will be graduating in May and while I cannot expect my workplace to have safe options in the cafeteria, I will advocate for these changes to occur one day. I hope to use my degree to impact food allergy research, by finding more treatments and a cure! This GFF Student Advocate Guest Blog Post was written by Marianna Rieser, a fourth-year pharmacy student at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa ---------------- Gluten Free Friends raises awareness about the importance of safe, inclusive college dining. We encourage food allergy and celiac advocacy and welcome high school and college student blog contributors. Contact Us with your story ideas! How well does your college meet YOUR dietary needs? Please share your advice and dining feedback in our GFF College Dining Survey to help inform prospective students and push colleges to improve. Every survey received increases the impact of our advocacy platform! Follow us on Instagram @gfreefriends

by Avery Leppo Over nine years ago, I was diagnosed with celiac disease. I was in second grade and had been suffering from severe headaches, abdominal pain, fatigue, and forceful vomiting. These symptoms caused me to miss school often and retreat socially. Doctors repeatedly dismissed it all as anxiety. After blood work followed by an endoscopy ultimately confirmed that I had celiac, my parents and I met with a dietician and quickly transformed our home into a safe, 100% gluten-free space. Within weeks of altering my diet, I physically felt much better. ​ Receiving a lifelong autoimmune diagnosis at seven years old was challenging and scary. I longed to have a confidante who could help me adjust to my new reality. This is what inspired me to begin Celiac Chat, a mentorship program for kids and teens newly diagnosed with celiac. With support from the Celiac Disease Center at Columbia University, we provide a virtual safe space to discuss the physical, mental, and social challenges that often accompany living with celiac. By offering resources, and support, and sharing our own celiac stories, we try to ease their transition to a lifelong gluten-free diet. Our hybrid program is based in New York City, but our mentors and mentees mostly connect virtually so they can be located anywhere. We chat about whatever is on our mentees’ minds such as our favorite gluten-free products, ways to order more safely in restaurants or to navigate an upcoming social event. We also emphasize the importance of creating allies by educating our friends and family about celiac, the gluten-free diet, and the risks of cross-contamination. Above all, we help them understand that they are not alone. We provide a glimpse of hope and humor and serve as examples of how they can thrive and live a fulfilling life despite celiac, and also go on to help others. Celiac Chat just launched in September, but over the past five months, we have seen tremendous interest. We are collaborating with over 20 organizations, restaurants, and influencers, have a solid base of email subscribers, and are working hard to reach more parents to increase our mentee numbers. During the annual Celiac Disease Foundation Turkey Trot, team Celiac Chat raised over $600 to help find a cure for celiac disease. Dr. Jacqueline Jossen at The Celiac Disease Center at Columbia University has been very supportive by helping spread the word about Celiac Chat to the community and her patients! We are currently reviewing mentor applications. Our mentors are interviewed and given guidelines to follow so they are prepared to meet their mentees at any stage in the process and follow their lead about how quickly to move from there. We also continue to improve our website by expanding our resources for both mentors and mentees. Recently, I was on a call with a nine-year-old girl who was diagnosed with celiac a year ago. Before I could ask her anything, she said, “How’s celiac going for you?” I instantly started beaming. Within a couple of sessions, she had not only gained confidence in managing celiac but had found joy in being part of the Celiac Chat community. I am determined to be a resource and support newly diagnosed children and teens so they feel less alone than I did. I find these connections tremendously rewarding and truly inspirational and hope my mentees and fellow mentors feel the same way. Please check out celiacchat.org to learn more about the program, and if you have any questions, email info@celiacchat.org! ---------------- This GFF Student Advocate Guest Blog Post was written by Avery Leppo, a senior at The Dalton School in NYC. Avery is a drummer and guitarist.. She plays softball and loves nature, traveling, working with children, and rooting for the Red Sox! Read more about high school students making a difference: GFF Student Advocate Program High School Student Creates a Community for Food Allergy Parents Twins Publish Celiac Book Before Heading Off to College ---------------- Gluten Free Friends works to raise awareness about the importance of safe, inclusive college dining. We encourage food allergy and celiac advocacy and welcome high school and college student contributors to our blog. Contact Us with your story ideas! Follow us on Instagram @gfreefriends

By Kethan Bajaj The transition from high school to college can be particularly challenging for students with food allergies. Over the past few years, we have researched these challenges at The Center for Food Allergy and Asthma Research (CFAAR) at Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine.  Our research confirmed that increased food allergy awareness training and education workshops can help improve life with food allergies on college campuses.(1) With all of this in mind, we started College Advocates for Food Allergy Awareness and Education (CAFAE) at Northwestern University during the 2021-2022 school year. CAFAE’s overall mission is to increase food condition awareness and education on campus to help improve the college experience for students with food conditions. EPINEPHRINE AUTO-INJECTOR TRAINING TABLES One of the most effective educational events CAFAE organizes is food allergy education tables at the Northwestern Student Center. Here, students can learn about common symptoms of anaphylaxis so they can recognize if their friends are having an allergic reaction. Trainer epinephrine auto-injectors are available to help prepare them to intervene if someone on campus is experiencing anaphylaxis. Along with helpful food allergy education pamphlets, we also offer food allergy-friendly snacks for students to try. CAFAE’s education tables have proven a great way to interact with the Northwestern community and teach students how to potentially save a life. MENTAL HEALTH DIALOGUES CAFAE also hosts mental health dialogues to create a social support system for students with food allergies and better prepare them for potential food allergy risk situations. Recently, we hosted a dialogue about navigating the college social scene coupled with a food allergy-friendly banquet. These dialogues all in all have helped create a strong food allergy community on campus, where students can comfortably share their food allergy difficulties and confide in one another for support. RESOURCES FOR COLLEGE STUDENTS Our team has created food allergy educational videos where students share their stories of navigating food allergies in the college scene. A Northwestern-specific video contains interviews with Northwestern’s dining staff who explain the measures they take to increase food allergy safety in the dining halls. We have also created a generic video useful for colleges nationwide. Along with the videos, we have created toolkits that help students with food-related conditions navigate college life. The toolkit contains tips on talking to roommates, dining on campus, recognizing signs and symptoms of anaphylaxis, and more. See our resources here or follow the specific links below! College Video (General) College Video (Northwestern specific) College Food Allergy Tool Kit CAFAE Club Flyer COLLEGE DINING ADVOCACY Northwestern has a top 9 allergen-free Pure Eats station in each of its dining halls and one full Pure Eats dining hall at Foster Walker Complex East. CAFAE students have expressed great appreciation for Pure Eats, as it provides allergen-friendly food while helping reduce cross-contamination risk and anxiety. Students have stated that the dining staff are very accommodating and receptive to those with allergies. One of CAFAE’s goals is to encourage more allergy-friendly dining stations in colleges across the nation. COMMUNITY OUTREACH CAFAE also promotes food allergy education and awareness in our local community. We recently attended the Evanston Township High School  “Kits, Cats, & Kids Block Party”, where we taught students and parents about food allergies. It has been exciting to realize that many college students are also interested in raising awareness about food allergies in their communities. We would love to bring them together for a  food allergy education conference and build a network of food allergy advocates. We have already started working with students interested in starting chapters of CAFAE on their campuses. If you are interested in making your college more food allergy-friendly, email us at CAFAE@u.northwestern.edu! 1. Bajaj et al., Determining Avenues to Improve Safety for College Students with Food Allergy. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. Feb 2023. Related Articles: Determining Avenues to Improve Safety for College Students with Food Allergy Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. Feb 2023 Students report lack of food allergy awareness on college campuses Healio, March 28, 2023 See our curated College News for research studies, including the one referenced here. This GFF Student Advocate Guest Blog Post was written by Kethan Bajaj, a junior at Northwestern University in Evanston, IL, studying Biological Sciences and Science in Human Culture. ---------------- How well does your college meet YOUR dietary needs? Please share your advice and dining feedback in our GFF College Dining Survey to help inform prospective students and push colleges to improve. Every survey received increases the impact of our advocacy platform! Gluten Free Friends works to raise awareness about the importance of safe, inclusive college dining and we welcome student contributors to our blog. Contact Us with your story ideas! Follow us on Instagram @gfreefriends

By Sheryl Harpel, Founder of Gluten Free Friends Valerie Kraft knows that one student has the potential to transform a college dining program. As a Vanderbilt University freshman, she organized students with food restrictions into a Student Allergy Advisory Council. Together, they increased awareness and motivated Vanderbilt to improve their food allergy dining program. By the time Valerie graduated in 2021, Vanderbilt was named Overall Food Allergy Champion for Universities. Vanderbilt won this award again in 2023, demonstrating the lasting impact of Valerie’s efforts. As the Director of Community Engagement for Beyond Celiac, Valerie now helps other college students increase safe dining options at their schools. A firm believer that students should never be afraid to ask their college to meet their dietary needs, Valerie says that If one person puts in the energy to get things started, so many more will benefit! She adds that improvements on one campus can also motivate other colleges to follow. “You have the power,” says Valerie. “The worst thing they can say is ‘no.’ You might as well try, if not for yourself, then for others!” Beyond Celiac is a GFF College Advocacy partner and joins us in encouraging all college students with food restrictions to give feedback on their college dining programs! Watch our interview with Valerie to learn more about how to make change happen on your campus!

By Sonia Green, GFF Student Journalist As a gluten-free student, I genuinely appreciate that Duke University continues to dedicate so much effort toward having a top food allergy program. I am a junior and have seen some improvements since I first arrived on campus. Frankly, searching for gluten-free food, especially as a freshman, was stressful and challenging, but I am increasingly hopeful that incoming gluten-free students will have an easier time than I did. As a freshman, I ate breakfast and dinner at Marketplace. This is one of the facilities receiving FARECheck Gold status for “allergy-friendly food handling” and, as of last year, also certified as free from tree nuts and peanuts. For lunches, I ate at The Brodhead Center on West Campus, commonly referred to as WU, which was essentially a campus food court where the rest of the students had most of their meals. As a gluten-free student, Marketplace and WU each came with their own set of challenges and risks to assess. Marketplace mostly serves first-year students. It is a nice dining hall. The sweet tea is sweet, they offer non-dairy milk alternatives and there is a mini fridge full of gluten-free breads, bagels, cookies, and snacks. Towards the end of my freshman year, a gluten-free waffle station was also introduced. Everything is labeled so students with food allergies know exactly what they can and cannot eat. As a freshman, all I wanted was to be able to navigate dining options with the same ease as my peers. I found the food labels helpful at first, but then I noticed that they would constantly change. I loved the nacho station, but the tortilla chips and beef would be labeled gluten-free one day and contain gluten the next time it was on the menu. The same thing happened with the Asian Fusion station. I had no idea why the labels changed. Once I realized labels on the same dish could just change for no given reason, I lost confidence in their labeling system. They seemed to randomly be limiting my choices, which led me to instead use my own judgment. This was not the safest practice, but there was nobody there authorized to talk about allergies then, and being gluten-free had already vastly limited my options. Every day, I walked past the pizza and pasta station, which didn’t always have gluten-free pasta on hand. I couldn’t eat the cheeseburgers or chicken sandwiches because they had no gluten-free bun, and when it was Asian Fusion week, I ignored that station since most of the dishes were fried in what appeared to be flour or prepared with regular soy sauce. There were many nights when the only protein I could eat was tofu from the vegan station. One night I had to buy a frozen burrito from Whole Foods because I could only find boiled potatoes and broccoli to eat. No matter where students choose to eat on campus, we should be able to find at least one complete meal which was simply not the case. So much more food would have been available to me freshman year if Marketplace had consistently safe protein options, reliably available gluten-free bread and pasta, used only gluten-free soy sauce, and had trustworthy labeling. Gluten-free options just didn’t seem as important to Duke as nut-free options. At WU, where I ate lunch as a freshman, and most of my meals as a sophomore, there were many more options, such as gluten-free pancakes and pizza. I tried my first burger on campus with an actual bun, not slices of bread from a mini-fridge. I could even enjoy chicken tenders and fries. However, although things were labeled more consistently, cross-contamination was an issue. At breakfast, I watched as biscuits were carried over the pans of eggs, bacon, and potatoes. Sometimes naan would be added to my meal from Tandoor before I had the opportunity to say that I didn’t want it. With Duke’s dining program being one of the best in the nation, it was disappointing to see these procedural errors. Again I also eliminated so many areas because I couldn’t eat anything. I never ate at Panda Express (which has since closed). I ignored Ginger + Soy because I could not eat any of their food (I eventually discovered one type of sushi and one rice bowl I can now enjoy). Even the chicken tenders that I once loved at Krafthouse are no longer gluten-free due to management changes. Now, the award-winning “Ask Me” program ensures that each dining location always has someone authorized to answer questions on food allergies. As a direct result of feedback from students with allergies, this fall two new eating venues are opening that eliminate the top 9 allergens and gluten altogether, removing the risk of cross-contamination. Many students on campus will appreciate the variety these new dining locations will provide. One is still under construction, but Gothic Grill has already replaced The Loop and seems well-received. As a junior, I have grown pretty adept at navigating Duke dining even if it’s not always very satisfying. I mobile order what I can, but know I must request some things in person. Sometimes the only gluten-free dessert options are unfortunately also vegan. I buy my late-night snacks from the grocery store or eat McDonald's ice cream. The new venues will offer additional safe options without cross-contamination risks. Students with a variety of dietary restrictions should be able to at least find something to eat almost anywhere. However, only time will tell if Duke will adequately increase the amount of safe gluten-free options at Marketplace, where freshmen eat most of their meals, or address cross-contamination concerns at WU. Overall, I am impressed by the steps Duke has taken to ensure students like me can eat three healthy meals a day, but, there is still work to be done to ensure that all food allergies are treated equitably on campus. Given their current trajectory, I am interested to see what comes next. This GFF Student Advocate Guest Blog Post was written by Sonia Green, a junior at Duke University in Durham, NC, studying African & African American Studies and Visual & Media Studies. ---------------- Gluten Free Friends works to raise awareness about the importance of safe, inclusive dining for college students with food restrictions. We welcome student contributors to our blog. Go to Contact Us to submit your story ideas! Follow us on Instagram @gfreefriends. We encourage college students with medically required food restrictions to complete our quick survey about your dining program to help inform prospective students and push colleges to improve their food allergy dining programs.

By Abby Spaulding, GFF Student Journalist I want to go to a small college and I envision time spent at the cafeteria with friends and sharing meals together to be an important part of my college life. I am definitely looking for lots of different factors in schools, like academics and social environment, but as someone with celiac disease, eating safely is one of the most important factors for me. I am known for always overpacking when I go on a trip. I want to cover every possibility! Although this has led to many heavy suitcases and isn’t necessarily the best approach for travel, I know that overpacking on the details will only help me as I embark on my college search. So, where to begin? Fortunately, I am part of an active celiac community in Seattle, Washington, through Seattle Children’s Hospital. One of our recent support group meetings was all about managing celiac in college. We heard from current college students about their experiences navigating eating safely at college. Hearing their stories, both positive and negative, has helped me realize that the best way to find out if a college can provide safe eating is to visit in person, if possible. I narrowed down my in-person visits to three colleges that I could either drive or fly to in a few hours. My first step was to look at each college’s website and identify their food service vendor. Some of the larger food service vendors have their own websites where you can learn more about their allergy procedures. Some of the schools also included their daily menus which was very helpful to see. Just from looking at the menus for different schools, I noticed that food offerings varied greatly from school to school, even if they had the same food service. I knew I’d have to visit the schools in person, if possible, to really understand if they could accommodate celiac disease. On those pages, I also found the contact information for each school’s dining manager and reached out via email to ask if they would be willing to give me a tour of the cafeteria and if I could have a meal there during my campus visit. I had positive interactions with all three schools before I even got on campus, and they all were happy to help with this. Once I was on campus the real detail collecting began! I made a list of questions beforehand and added to it after each visit. How wide of a variety of gluten-free foods are offered? Just one allergy-free station or is gluten-free food offered at multiple stations? Can they prepare the food separately so there is a low risk of cross-contamination? Are staff trained on what cross-contamination is? I also asked questions about access to kitchens in dorms and other dining options on campus. I was impressed that one school had eliminated all soy sauce from the entire cafeteria and only used tamari sauce. That school also used gluten-free breading on all fried foods in order to make their fryers gluten-free. Having gluten-free fried chicken and french fries available every day was pretty appealing! One issue that I had never thought about arose when one school let me know that they have minimal dining options on the weekends. I then also asked this question at the other schools I visited. I also asked if they had an on-campus grocery store with gluten-free options so students could get food to make back at their dorm room if needed. One thing that surprised me was that every school I visited was willing to go the extra step to ensure safety not only for students with celiac but all students with allergies. Each school said they would prepare meals individually or keep food in separate refrigerators if that made the students more comfortable. All of the dietary managers at these schools give their cell phone numbers to students with food allergies so they could get help quickly if needed. So, all in all, a good start! I feel encouraged that more and more schools are accommodating students with celiac disease and other food allergies. This is just the beginning so wish me luck! This GFF Student Advocate Guest Blog Post was written by Abby Spaulding, a senior at Bishop Blanchet High School in Seattle, WA. Abby enjoys singing and theater and is a proud member of the Celiac Youth Leadership Council at Seattle Children’s Hospital. Good luck, Abby, and thanks for sharing some of your college search with us! Learn more about evaluating dining during your college search: Meet the Gluten-Free Challenge from College Search to Campus Gluten-Free at College? Yes, It's Possible! Celiac Complicates Your College Search GFF College Dining Survey Responses A or F? For Students with Food Restrictions, Scoring College Dining is Personal Gluten Free Friends works to raise awareness about the importance of safe, inclusive dining for college students with food restrictions. We welcome student contributors to our blog. Go to Contact Us to submit your story ideas! Follow us on Instagram @gfreefriends. We encourage college students with medically required food restrictions to complete our quick survey about your dining program to help inform prospective students and push colleges to improve their food allergy dining programs.

Dining change negatively impacts students with food allergies By Brandon Samuels, GFF Student Journalist Living with gluten and dairy allergies has always been a challenge. I cannot just walk into a restaurant and expect to have food to eat. Whether it is going to a birthday party, holiday dinner, or enjoying a meal with friends, finding safe food always requires research and preparation. So when it was time to attend college, I understood that I needed to select an institution that would support my dietary needs. I chose to attend Brandeis University, not only for its academic reputation but also because of its accommodating dining hall program. The stakes were high; I would have to trust dining hall staff members to keep me safe. For most of my freshman year, Brandeis University delivered on its promises. There were clearly labeled options that I could eat, their cafeterias had a station that was rid of the top nine allergens, and they even had a regularly stocked pantry exclusively allocated to students with food allergies. A dedicated dietitian listened to feedback from students and effectively reached out to those with allergies. But a change was coming that would dramatically impact the lives of Brandeis students with food allergies. On April 14, 2022, Brandeis University announced a new contract with Harvest Table Group, officially ending the university’s partnership with Sodexo catering services. At first, I was intrigued by the possibilities of new safe options. And why wouldn’t I be? In Harvest Table’s promotional pamphlet, the company promised that they would be “Keeping students with special diets safe and making them feel included with our personalized order-on-demand program.” But I understood from my college search that dining websites and written materials were often unreliable. I would need to evaluate Harvest Table’s food allergy program for myself. What Brandeis students discovered in the dining halls in August of 2022 was awfully concerning. Long lines wrapped around the cafeteria. Only limited stations were opened, causing frustrated students to wait 20 minutes to get a piece of chicken. While all Brandeis students were inconvenienced by this rocky opening, weak dining processes posed a serious health risk to students with food allergies. It was not long before I met with the new dietitian with a list of my concerns, many of which were beyond her control. A week after our meeting I found out that she had resigned. Although long lines began to dwindle and more stations resurfaced as the months progressed, the situation for students with food allergies worsened. A clear example of this involves the Hive Culinary Studio food court. In January of 2023, Brandeis expanded the Hive’s ordering options and added large signs above each vendor’s station listing allergens. But while the signs emphatically labeled ingredients as gluten-free or dairy-free, the reality could not have been more different. In only the span of a month, I observed clear instances of cross-contamination practices taking place at each station. Staff at La Sabrosa heated gluten-free tortillas in the same pan as whole wheat cheese quesadillas. Employees at Nakiri boiled rice noodles in the same pot as ramen noodles. Not only was the dining staff incapable of keeping the food safe for those with allergies, but they also misled students by promoting these areas as allergy-friendly spaces. For most of my time at Brandeis, I have left the cafeteria hungry. The lack of palatable and safe options has left me searching for other alternatives. During the 2023 spring semester, I missed three classes from severe gastrointestinal issues after eating from these locations and warned my friends with food allergies to be wary about Brandeis’ dining practices. I spent money at the convenience store or cooked my own food. By March of 2023, I completely stopped eating any food from the Hive Culinary Studio. Brandeis advertises allergy-friendly options without actually providing a safe and appetizing dining experience, which is dangerous and unacceptable. We need a reliable dining program at Brandeis that prioritizes student safety. Brandeis should train their dining hall staff, remove false and misleading large allergen labels, and bring in third-party specialists to audit and fix the food allergen program. If Harvest Table Group is unable to promptly meet the needs of students with allergies as advertised, Brandeis should switch dining vendors. Additionally, Brandeis ought to include ongoing student feedback. I do not feel supported when it takes four staff members to provide an ingredients list, or when the only gluten-free bread provided is the texture of sandpaper. Brandeis has not fostered a personal relationship with those that have allergies, rendering students to feel voiceless. This fall, I will mostly avoid the dining halls. I just can’t risk it. I will safely cook my own meals off campus. However, I am deeply concerned for all the other students with allergies that depend on the cafeterias. Food allergies are considered a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act and while Brandeis outsourced dining, they did not forfeit their legal obligations. Students living in Brandeis housing are required to spend up to $8000/year on a meal plan and deserve a dining program that keeps them safe and truly accommodates their dietary restrictions. Overall, I believe that Brandeis is misrepresenting its ability to safely feed students with food allergies. They must do better and act quickly. This GFF Student Advocate Guest Blog Post was written by Brandon Samuels, a junior at Brandeis University in Waltham, MA, studying Politics and Legal Studies. ---------------- Gluten Free Friends works to raise awareness about the importance of safe, inclusive dining for college students with food restrictions. We welcome student contributors to our blog. Go to Contact Us to submit your story ideas! Follow us on Instagram @gfreefriends. We encourage college students with medically required food restrictions to complete our quick survey about your dining program to help inform prospective students and push colleges to improve their food allergy dining programs.

by Sheryl Harpel, Founder of Gluten Free Friends This post was featured in FARE's July 2023 Leadership Spotlight FARE (Food Allergy Research and Education) is a GFF College Advocacy Partner -------------- Sheryl Harpel is an Allergy Ally and the founder of Gluten Free Friends, a New Jersey support group and online resource for people with celiac disease. In this guest blog post, Sheryl invites university and college students with food allergies, celiac disease, or gluten intolerance to share their college dining experiences through the GFF College Dining Survey. Feeding college students with medically required food restrictions is required under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Unfortunately, dining capabilities still vary tremendously by school, even when using the same vendor. Sharing your college dining experiences helps to inform high school students during their college search and can pressure schools to improve their food allergen safety practices. We hope you’ll join our grassroots effort to improve dining safety for college students with food allergies. Colleges with the best dining services embrace their responsibility to provide safe, inclusive dining. They recognize that an estimated 7-11% of their students have food allergies, some potentially life-threatening,1 and actively work to meet their needs. They eliminate top allergens and gluten from dining lines or entire dining halls, provide pre-packaged options from these safe zones to locations across campus, and get student feedback to continually improve. Their dining programs attract students with food allergies to consider their schools. The worst college programs have mandatory meal plans with no safe options. These colleges ignore ADA compliance requirements and risk lawsuits. Students successfully sued Rider University and Lesley University on this basis, forcing these schools to completely transform their dining programs. Most college dining services are somewhere in between. They provide safe options but students report that food choices are limited, repetitive, or nutritionally lacking. The safest dining hall may not be conveniently located near dorm rooms, classes, or where friends congregate. Students on tight budgets or in remote locations struggle to supplement their diets with non-campus food. Insufficient college dining services can lead to food insecurity. “The cost of a meal plan for an academic year usually ranges between $3,000 and $5,500, with the most expensive plans reaching upwards of $9,000” according to US News & World Report.2 Students often don’t have money left to spend on groceries or restaurants after paying for unused mandatory meal plans. Our NJ celiac support group, Gluten Free Friends, decided to help high school students evaluating colleges get on-campus student feedback about dining programs. We survey college students with food allergies and/or celiac disease and post their candid responses on gfreefriends.com. We started with students in our own support group and the response was so positive that we reached out to the broader celiac and food allergy community and just kept going. In addition to helping high school students, we have found that our surveys can pressure schools to improve. For example, we highlighted a disappointing survey from a freshman with celiac at Western Carolina University (WCU) on our Instagram @gfreefriends and tagged their student newspaper. The newspaper followed up with an article. And now there’s a new WCU dietician working to improve their program. Every survey increases the impact of this resource. FARE, National Celiac Association, and Beyond Celiac now have links to our GFF College Dining Survey on their college-related website pages and encourage college students to participate. By working together, we can improve the college experience for so many students! Volunteer internship opportunities for high school and college students who want to help are posted on our website. Parents can also reach out to me to get involved. Please actively share our GFF College Dining Survey in your food allergy, celiac, and college groups and ask college students to add their voice! -------------- 1. Sicherer, Scott H, MD, FAAAAI. Food allergy in college and university students: Overview and management. UpToDate. Jan 10, 2022. https://www.uptodate.com/contents/food-allergy-in-college-and-university-students-overview-and-management. Accessed May 13, 2023. 2. Wood, Sarah. Paying for Meals at College: What to Know About Costs. U.S. News and World Report. Feb. 9, 2022. https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/paying-for-college/articles/paying-for-meals-at-college-what-to-know-about-costs. Accessed May 12, 2023.

Considering how well a college handles dietary restrictions before making a decision, can help ensure your success on campus! This interview with our founder, Sheryl Harpel, appears in the Summer 2023 Generation GF Magazine. While written for a gluten-free audience, it is helpful for students with any food allergies. Thank you, Gluten Intolerance Group (GIG), for showcasing our college advocacy efforts. Receive their free publication (3 issues/year) by subscribing here! --------------

by Sheryl Harpel and Hemali Gauri Hemali Gauri, Founder of K12Allergies, is a high school junior committed to food allergy education and awareness. Her organization, K12Allergies, provides an online community for food allergy parents to share their personal journeys and support each other. I talked with the Arkansas student, who is allergic to eggs and garlic, to learn more. What has your personal food allergy journey been like, Hemali? At seven, I started breaking out into eczema/hives all over my body. These flairs would increase on some days and decrease on others. With the help of our physician, my family figured out that these were allergies, but it was a mystery what the allergen could be. After inconclusive skin prick and blood tests, my parents set out on a lengthy elimination diet, removing specific allergens from my diet over weeks at a time and tracking my breakouts in a food journal. They discovered I was allergic to eggs quickly and after a few months, with numerous series of eliminations, came to the conclusion that I was also allergic to garlic. Tell us about your work for the food allergy community. I’ve created a comprehensive source for parents of children with food allergies at K12Allergies.com. We've collected advice and stories from food allergy parents through the diagnosis, living with, and potentially outgrowing, stages of their children’s food allergy journeys, which are all searchable by allergen, reaction, or treatment. There’s also a resources page with over twenty featured organizations, ranging from a device that tracks kids’ EpiPen locations to an “allergy ID card'' translated into different languages to make traveling with food allergies easier. I’m also very engaged in promoting K12Allergies through social media, reaching over four thousand individuals on Instagram and attracting hundreds of site visitors. My passion for raising food allergy education and awareness doesn’t stop online. I’ve partnered with the Hedberg Clinic in Northwest Arkansas to decrease misinformation about food allergies by posting interviews with local professionals. I help coordinate a food allergy-friendly Halloween event at the Fayetteville Public Library. Currently, I’m hosting an allergy-friendly drive for our local food bank. I’m also planning Epinephrine Training and Food Allergy Awareness talks in local public elementary schools. What motivates you? I was inspired by my family’s experiences with food allergies in a small town. My parents didn’t know anyone with food allergies or about available online resources. There was no one to support them, no one I could relate to. A Google search on children’s food allergies just showed generic information. During the initial months of the Covid-19 pandemic outbreak in 2020, when I was isolated at home, the thought of having a resource for parents with kids suffering from various food allergies came to my mind. I decided to reach out to food allergy families asking them to share their experiences of diagnosing their own children's allergies and share suggestions for other parents. I received so much positive feedback about my idea of creating an online community for food allergy parents that I created the website K12Allergies.com. Since then, I’ve been motivated by the amount of good I can do in my local community of Northwest Arkansas and online. Was it hard to create a food allergy organization as a high school student? I definitely faced many challenges, from continuous website breaks to a lack of knowledge about how to incorporate a nonprofit and write bylaws. Sometimes people look at age as an indicator of how much you’ll be able to accomplish, which is wrong. Just because I’m a young person, doesn’t mean I can’t make a positive impact in my community. Usually, people are willing to help me because they see my drive at such a young age. Advice for those who also want to make a difference? Just start. However you can get involved - just start there. It doesn’t have to be creating your own organization as the first step. Progress happens over time, the weeks, months, and years you put in. And after beginning, your motivation becomes sparked by how much good you can do. Also, reach out to people over email, usually they want to help you. Don’t be discouraged by a lack of progress. Work to make the world a better place and fulfill your mission. There have been so many times I’ve been frustrated about one-sided communications and lost opportunities, but then I remind myself about the opportunities I’ve gotten, about all the things K12Allergies has been able to do and that has motivated me to continue. How can people connect with you? I would encourage everyone to check out my website K12Allergies.com, and share your food allergy/celiac story to help future food allergy parents on their journey! You can also follow me @K12Allergies on Instagram and Facebook to keep up with my advocacy work. Thank you, Hemali, for all of your efforts for the food allergy community! We also believe in the power of sharing personal journeys. College students with food allergies or celiac disease, share YOUR story -- complete our GFF College Dining Survey! Sheryl Harpel Founder, Gluten Free Friends Hemali has been featured on: National Public Radio station's KUAF Community spotlight January 27, 2023 5 News KFSM Educate Arkansas September 15, 2022 Northwest Arkansas NWA Girl Gang Instagram December 6, 2022 Be(A)ware Allergy Friendly Halloween Facebook November 1, 2022

By Sheryl Harpel, Founder of Gluten Free Friends When we survey college students with food allergies or celiac disease, we receive candid feedback on what it’s like to manage special diets as they rush between classes, study for exams, and socialize, often on tight budgets. Their responses reflect unique perspectives. On the same food line, one may be delighted with how food is labeled and organized, while another is concerned about potential cross-contamination. Our GFF College Dining Survey captures individual dining experiences of students with varying food restrictions at a given point in time. Students at the same school don’t always give consistent feedback. In an extreme example, University of Pittsburgh students give dining grades ranging from A to F. All of these student experiences have weight, but what could cause such extreme variations in satisfaction in the same dining halls? Well, it’s personal! Students' perspectives are influenced by… 1. Foods Being Avoided If a college accommodates some food allergies better than others, students with different food restrictions could have very different experiences. Top 8 allergen-free dining lines aren’t necessarily helpful for students with less common food allergies, and a nut-free dining hall may not help a student with celiac avoid traces of gluten. The recent University of Pittsburgh graduate that failed Pitt’s dining program has a milk allergy and complained that Pitt “only focused on nut allergies.” Some students have additional constraints, such as trying to eat vegetarian, kosher, or halal, which further limits options. 2. Exposure Consequences Students facing potentially life-threatening or debilitating reactions may need more assurances and attention than those with lesser reactions. Once confidence in dining safety is lost, it is not easily regained. 3. Financial Resources Some students have the money to supplement when their needs aren’t met. They shop and eat in town, and get Amazon packages delivered. Others are fully dependent on feeding themselves from often mandatory meal plans. Not meeting dietary requirements for these students can lead to genuine food insecurity. Even though Brooklyn, NY, likely has great off-campus options, a Pratt Institute student reported having no money for food beyond what had been spent on the meal plan and “feeling food insecure[and] worrying about where my next meal will come from.” 4. Sensitivity Some students are asymptomatic and may not even know when they’ve been exposed, while others react to the smallest of traces. 5. Self-Advocacy Students who register their disabilities, seek accommodations, actively use school resources like campus dietitians, talk to dining managers, and advocate for improvements, may have a much different experience than students quietly trying to cope under the radar. 6. Expectations Students have their own opinions about what dining services should be provided. For example, a Boston College sophomore with celiac gave BC Dining an A+, gladly pre-ordering and planning ahead to have safe gluten-free options, while a fellow student in a BC Heights article found it unworkable to give up that much flexibility. As dining improves, expectations can rise too. Top programs take student input and continue to raise the bar, as reported by a satisfied sophomore at Franklin and Marshall, “They are very accommodating and implement feedback quickly.” 7. Level of Understanding and Acceptance of Diagnosis Students handle food restrictions differently, both physically and emotionally. Some students come to terms with the challenge when they are young, while others are still struggling with it when they head off to college. We, therefore, encourage prospective students to ask, “Can I make this dining program work for me given my personal situation?” Listen to these students' stories and then investigate further to reach a very personal conclusion. College students with food allergies or celiac, shine a light on your school’s dining program! Take the GFF College Dining Survey!