<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>
Hello Listmates,
Sorry for the delay in summarizing, but I received so many responses filled
with useful information and I wanted to summarize it in a meaningful way. I’ll
have to post this in several parts because it’s too long for one post. My
sincere thanks to all who responded!
Experiences were “all over the map” as far as how accommodating different
schools were to students with special diets. Responses ranged from schools that
actually post GF menus on their websites to schools that made no
accommodations whatsoever. Most schools fall somewhere in between. The schools that seem
to be the least accommodating are privately run religious colleges that require
students to live in dorms and be on the meal plan. Since they do not receive
Federal funding, they’re not required to provide accommodations under section
504 of the Americans With Disabilities Act.
Some people made the availability of GF food the top priority in their
college search (as one parent said “if he can’t eat there he can’t go there”) and
others said not to even bother looking into it until the acceptances come in
the mail.
In general it was advised that you contact the Dining Services Manager
directly when you visit or call a school. Most people also advised contacting the
person in charge of Students with Disabilities. This is especially important
for schools that require Freshmen to live on campus and be on a meal plan. Even
schools that try to provide GF meals or identify foods on their regular menu
that are GF are not always able to prevent cross contamination. Some schools
won’t let the students bring any electrical appliances into their rooms no
matter what, and others will. Most schools will allow a small refrigerator and
microwave, but not a toaster or hot plate. Some schools have dorms with kitchen
areas that students can use or on-campus apartments (usually for upperclassmen,
but some schools will make exceptions if you work with the Student
Disabilities Director). Most students who replied to my question moved to apartments
(either on or off campus) after their Freshman year.
Janet Rinehart, Chairman, Houston Celiac Support Group, and Former President,
CSA/USA sent me some excellent articles about celiac living at college. For
anyone with celiac high school kids, I highly recommend reading them. They are
too long to post here, but you can get them by sending an email request to:
[log in to unmask] ; www.houstonceliacs.org.
The following response came from Jessica Mahood, who recently posted on the
Listserv about her upcoming presentation at the 2006 AAAS meeting.
Several years ago (as a college student at the time) I co-wrote an article
with Houston CSA President Janet Rinehart entitled "College Bound for Celiacs."
You can access it from this link
http://www.enabling.org/ia/celiac/sn/spnk0002.html
or you can do a google search for the article's title. It was our best
attempt to convey a variety of ideas/thoughts about the college experience. The
article also has a list of recommendations for future college Celiacs.
In any case, my experience was that there is a huge range of responsiveness
from schools, particularly smaller colleges vs. larger universities. However,
regardless of their sympathy for your child's situation, they are mandated by
the Americans with Disabilities Act to provide "reasonable accommodations."
Every university/college should have a student disabilities coordinator. Do
not hesitate to contact that person, and do not hesitate to remind them of their
legal obligations in this matter. Colleges are extremely politically-correct
these days, and they will be extremely fearful of bad press that they are not
helping out their disabled students.
You may also want to let the listserv know which schools your child is
interested in, or which schools are in a geographic area of interest. They may be
able to give you a heads-up on which are more helpful/familiar with Celiac.
**********************************************************
Diane Eve Paley, President of CSA, informed me that CSA has college students
who have celiac disease as resources in various colleges. (They are our
Cel-Kids who have grown up and are now volunteering to help). The CSA web site is
csaceliacs.org and their toll-free number is 1/877-CSA-4CSA
******************************************************************************
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And here are some words of advice from Connie Sarros:
College eating can be intimidating and confusing for a celiac, but here are
some suggestions--
1) Most meal plans do not cater to celiacs even though there may be some
foods that are gluten-free. Some chefs are very understanding and will
work with you. Unfortunately, some others take offense when you ask about
ingredients. The good news is that some colleges are actually offering
gluten-free options now. It is best to consult with the on-campus chefs
prior to your teenager attending school there.
2) Different schools have different rules regarding cooking equipment in
dorm rooms. My daughter attended the U. of KY and she was only permitted to
have microwave (no hot plate). She did most of her own cooking. While this
takes time away from studying, with a little planning, cooking can be
organized so it takes little time. My daughter had a refrigerator in her
room and whenever she would come home, I would send some homemade TV dinners
back with her that just needed to be heated in the microwave. She went
grocery shopping once a week and prepared foods that were simple--
Crock pots -- The beauty is that everything can be dumped into the crock pot
in the morning and by the time classes and studying are over, dinner is
ready. (Stews, chili, sloppy joes, casseroles -- any vegetables, potatoes,
meat or poultry and sauce that can be layered.)
Microwave-- A piece of fish or poultry on a dish with a vegetable and baked
potato on the side can be microwaved in minutes. Amy's has some excellent
frozen GF TV dinners that can be microwaved in minutes. If you get a combo
microwave and oven, then the options for cooking are almost limitless. Many
of the GF mail order companies have instant soups and dinners.
3) There are usually off-campus eateries that offer nutritious GF foods.
Consult 'Waiter, Is There Wheat in My Soup?' for a list of GF restaurant
offerings. This option can get expensive, but when there is no time to
cook, it is comforting to know where your teenager can go for a 'safe' and
healthy meal.
The point is, being gluten-free on campus is do-able with a little planning.
If you are interested, I have a week's worth of gluten-free menus (with
recipes) for college students. Go to www.gfbooks.homestead.com and click on
'menus' for more information.
Connie Sarros
Gluten-free Cookbooks
www.gfbooks.homestead.com
* Visit the Celiac Web Page at www.enabling.org/ia/celiac/index.html *
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