Schools good for picky celiac student?

[Anonymous]

JMU has been great for my gluten-free daughter

[Anonymous]

I think there are a few options and it’s not clear what your daughter might be open to:

Does she really want to eat in the dining hall or would she be just as happy to cook for herself?

If the right scenario is cooking for herself is she willing to live off campus or not in freshman housing?

I think when you narrow down what options are on the table it will be easier to identify how narrow you need to be in considering schools.

I agree with others about expanding the palate but I also have a kid with an anaphylactic food allergy so I understand being nervous. She’ll ultimately need to decide what sacrifices she is willing to make in order to have control and access to her preferred food situation.

[Anonymous]

There are several college vloggers on Instagram and TikTok who document living on campus while navigating celiac. There are some campuses (ahem William & Mary) who are notorious for dining hall issues. Social media can be great to get a feel for places.

Your dd will s definitely need to advocate for herself to make things happen. Reach out to food services on campuses, speak with their dieticians, etc to determine the accommodations they can make.

[Anonymous]

My DC is also gluten free, but enjoys food and has a normal diet otherwise.

Sounds like your DD has food aversions, which is her own problem, and not a disability and no school is going to cater to pickiness.

I agree with the “grow-up” sentiment.

[Anonymous]

Northwestern and Duke have two of the strongest food allergy programs I have seen (and this would apply equally to someone with celiac). Both have facilities that are Top 8 allergen free.

https://www.foodallergy.org/resources/2024-fare-campus-award-winners-top-campuses-food-allergies

https://students.duke.edu/duke-dining-recognized-for-best-comprehensive-allergen-free-dining-program/

[Anonymous]

P.S. You can search accommodations available at colleges at FARE's search site https://college.foodallergy.org/schools?keywords=

[Anonymous]

Find schools that actually have suite-style dorms with full kitchens and microwaves. She can get her own foods and cook them in her own pans and use her own dinnerware.

[Anonymous]

Some colleges offer kitchens for students who need to prepare threir own food. My GF is doing well managing her multiple food allergies at Swarthmore. She has dining dollars to use at a co-op. But she is not as picky as your DD

[Anonymous]

Many people with celiac disease feel more comfortable when they cook food for themselves. Then they have control over all the ingredients and the kitchen.
Would that be a possibility for your daughter?

[Anonymous]

Agree with UMass and Smith. But another option is a school where most people live off-campus and she can make her own meals. That is probably not going to be an LAC though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DD is a junior and we are starting to create a list of colleges. She has celiac disease and on top of that she is a very picky eater. For example she does not eat any salads, could eat gluten free cheese pasta/pizza, gluten free chicken tenders everyday if we allowed it. Every school we toured says they can accommodate all kinds of dietary restrictions including gluten free. However, when we actually walked through the cafeteria we realized that the choices were quite limited centering around the salad bar and other healthy foods that DD would not go for. Are there any schools that offer a particularly wide range of gluten free food that includes foods like gotten free
pizza and chicken tenders?

University of Richmond.

[Anonymous]

This is a fairly new non profit but has some good articles and you also have the ability under the college & university tab to search & get specific info on each school. Hope it helps.

https://www.celiaccollegeguide.org/search_results

[Anonymous]

A friend's DD with celiac loved her time at W&M.

[Anonymous]

For all of you pretending like some of us don’t “get” celiac, we do.

Some of us have or have kids who have DEATHLY allergies. We get it. I’m sorry that celiac would cause anyone illness or discomfort or severe issues, but don’t pretend like we don’t get allergies. We do. We are dealing with LIFE AND DEATH.

So we do, in fact, know that celiac is one thing, and pickiness to the point of insanity is another issue. Both need to be addressed. OP, why have you not gotten your child professional help for this life-affecting issue?

[Anonymous]

Most schools have very limited options. Even many of those that get top marks for allergy free dining in fact have fairly limited options for picky eaters.
The best we saw was Tufts. They have an entire dining hall that is gluten free, with a wide variety of options.
My celiac did not want to pick a school based on that and ended up at a school with limited gf options. Mine is picky and didn’t like most of the options (although she likes salad and so mostly ate that). First year was tough, but she is very happy where she is.