Although many students become excited at the prospect of having free reign over the dining hall and the many options available once college begins, others have a different experience. When I was touring universities over four years ago, the only essential question I asked was whether there were dining hall options for my dietary plan. I have celiac disease, which is an autoimmune disorder and means I am unable to digest foods with gluten in them. Foods with gluten include wheat, rye and barley, with malt and oats also considered foods containing gluten. I also follow a vegetarian diet and lifestyle and try to eat mostly plant-based whenever possible.
I remember touring West Chester University of Pennsylvania with my mother in the fall of 2016 and the only question we asked the tour guide was “What kind of gluten-free options are available in Lawrence Dining Hall?” I was informed there was a whole section of the Lawrence Dining Hall with designated gluten-free foods, and the section played a significant role in my choice to attend West Chester University. However, throughout my two years living in on-campus housing I struggled finding a variety of food options that fit into my diet plan. When speaking to other students on campus, I discovered my experience is not a unique one among students with specific dietary restrictions and their on-campus dining options. I interviewed a couple of other students on-campus who follow alternative diets in order to bring awareness to the struggles many experience with the lack of food options available to students. I will be answering the questions myself as well to bring the perspective of the gluten-free diet to my article.
Gluten-Free and Vegetarian Diet
- What dietary plan do you follow? How long have you followed that dietary plan? Is your diet a medical necessity or a personal choice?
- I follow a gluten-free diet out of medical necessity due to my celiac disease. I also follow a vegetarian diet, which is a personal choice. I have had celiac disease for 19 years, and I have been a vegetarian for 11 or 12 years now.
- What does your diet mean? What foods can you eat/what can you not eat?
- My gluten-free diet means that I cannot eat gluten (wheat, rye, oats, barley and malt), and being vegetarian means that I do not eat any meat, poultry or seafood.
- Did you experience the on-campus dining at WCU? What are your thoughts on the dining options?
- I did experience the on-campus dining at West Chester. I lived in the residence halls for my first two years at WCU, and dining plans are required if a student lives on-campus. The most frustrating aspect of the on-campus dining experience for me was that the amount of money that I paid for the dining plan did not equate to the quality of the food that I was eating. The gluten-free station at the Lawrence Dining Hall typically only had 2 options: the rice bowl station and the meat and vegetable station that rotated daily. I hardly ever chose the meat and vegetable station — for the obvious reason that I do not eat meat — so I was mostly relegated to the create-your-own rice bowl station. What sucked for me was that the gluten-free station was only open during the weekdays, had limited hours on Fridays and was closed on the weekend.
- Where on campus did/do you typically eat? Lawrence, Sykes Student Union, specific spots within Lawrence?
- I typically ate at Sykes Student Union after the first couple of weeks of my freshman year of college. I almost always ate at the rice bowl station in Sykes because I was able to fully customize my meal; I had the option to add tofu, my protein of choice, and I almost always had way too many meal swipes than I knew what to do with.
- Did you find it necessary to supplement your diet often with food outside of your dining plan? Why or why not?
- I spent $100 every two weeks at the grocery store my sophomore year in order to supplement my diet. My freshman year I also spent a significant amount of money on outside food whenever my parents could stop at my college and take me to the store since I did not have my car. I supplemented my diet so much because I really only had the options of rice bowls or salads at any of the dining options on campus, and it was incredibly boring and lacking in nutrition. Eating the same foods every single day was honestly depressing, and I needed to eat other foods.
- Did you feel like you were satisfied with the options offered by Aramark dining? Did you find many options that fit within your dietary plan?
- No, I honestly wasn’t satisfied with the options offered by Aramark. Although there were a few options available that fit my dietary needs, there were only a couple of options, and it hardly ever changed. I couldn’t find many options that fit my dietary plan and restrictions.
- How did the options provided compare to the food you saw that fit into a “standard diet”?
- Honestly, the food seemed subpar and as though it was not something I would eat if I were making it for myself. I eat an extremely varied diet within the parameters of my dietary restrictions, and not having that option was so incredibly difficult.
- How would you suggest Aramark and WCU move forward with their dining plan and dining options?
- I think that Aramark and WCU should do a student survey and get input from the students in order to improve their dining hall. Students are following newer diet plans and new alternative diets, and it can only improve the WCU dining experience if they talk to students to figure it out.
Part two of this article will be published in next week’s edition of The Quad.
Sarah Croft is a fourth-year Political Science and Spanish Major with a minor in Latin American and Latino/a Studies. SC895088@wcupa.edu