MIT: Gluten-Free!

Offering gluten-free options and keeping up with separation standards is an issue that I believe is very important for schools and other institutions to take seriously. One of the biggest issues in being gluten-free, especially when allergic to gluten, is that many people do not trust public eateries. Some restaurants do not realize that just because there is no gluten in their fish doesn't necessarily rule out the fact that there could be gluten remnants in the pan that the fish was baked in or on the hands that prepared it.

There are gluten-free options in many university and high school cafeterias, including Temple's Johnson and Hardwick Dining halls. Yet the problem still lies within proper food separation. Anyone who has been to the dining halls during rush hour can vouch for the picture that comes to my mind. Bustling students, different types of food dropped into the salad bar, employees that slop food onto plates before you have a chance to request anything special, and crumbs on the hot lines. This is about as dangerous as no man's land for people like my room mate. She was limited to the salad bar and french fries that J&H offered during her freshman year (2008-2009) and even then experienced uncomfortable rashes due to contact with gluten.
Lindsey Howell, contributor to Ezine articles, suggests that college attendees get a personal kitchen a.s.a.p. I think institutions need to go the extra mile and offer safe and completly separated gluten-free food options. This means different gloves and cooking necessities to cook the food and knowledgeable employees.
When the university fails to take up the challenge, students tend to help each other out through self-research and blogging. A blog posted on MIT's website gives a list of gluten-free eateries on campus along with nearby restaurants, cafes and grocery stores that offer gluten-free menus and aisles. Temple students also call awareness to local eateries (such as Sweet Freedom) that are safe for students suffering from gluten allergies.
But why shove the responsibility onto the sufferers? I think that schools should be aware of the hardship that comes along with finding food options on campus for students with food allergies. A gluten-free blogger complains, "Sometimes I get annoyed that I have to always know where my next meal is coming from". This pretty much sums up the experiences that I have observed from my room mate and other friends who choose vegan or gluten-free lifestyles.

In elementary schools, having celiacs disease can be a nightmare for parents who are too busy to pack lunches every day. Children shouldn't feel ashamed or like an outcast because of their food allergy that is easily dealt with if institutions implemented the proper food handling techniques. Triumph Blog, a blogging site dedicated to gluten-free communities, is working on a petition that is aimed specifically towards schools, demanding a lunch system that meets students' "medically prescribed dietary needs".
Blogging helps gets small voices heard, and it is with further awareness that we can get our own institutions to start offering safe and healthy meal options for people with food allergies. They should not have to be secluded to limited (and often weird) food options. They shouldn't be shunned from dorm life just because they need personal kitchenettes. The college experience should be about learning about ones self image rather than avoiding disasters that are easily preventable.
Recently, in talking to some freshman at Temple, I have learned that the J&H dining hall does in fact now offer more gluten-free options and there is an entire section dedicated to vegans and gluten-free students. This pleases me as it represents a positive reaction towards students' demands and requirements. Temple is an innovative university, and perhaps in the future more options will arise for the students who have special dietary requirements.