It’s not just ‘hold the meat’ at vegetarian-friendly Purchase, it’s ‘hold the gluten’ for some students with an autoimmune disease that cuts out bread, pasta, and all wheat products from their diet.
Luckily, Chartwells is rolling out an entire new dining section just for these students in the next two weeks, according to Kyle Pleva, the marketing director.
Celiac is a disease where the small intestine views gluten, the sticky protein found in wheat, barley, and rye, as poison and it attacks itself, disrupting the absorption of nutrients and creating many health problems.
The section will be in the main dining hall, called ‘Your S.P.A.C.E.’, the acronym standing for ‘Special Products for Allergen Controlled Eating’.
“We’re setting up a whole other table,” Pleva said. He said there would a separate toaster and a cooler. The cooler would feature prepared gluten-free pasta, rice dishes, as well as gluten-free bagels and wraps. Gluten-free cereal, Rice Chex, is also now available.
Previously, students were limited to gluten-free sandwiches at the Hub and Terra Ve.
George and Antoinette Berns are twins who have to follow a gluten-free diet. The freshmen were diagnosed four years ago.
“I was really restrained to hamburgers [without the bun] and salads for the first two months,” George said. Now he mostly eats frozen foods he keeps in his mini-fridge.
Ashley Odish, a junior with celiac and a vegetarian with other food allergies, said that she too survived on garden burgers without a bun at first. Now she sticks to sandwiches.
“I pretty much eat the same thing everyday,” she said.
For students with celiac, it’s difficult to know what’s safe to eat. Wheat is found in unlikely places, sneaking into some brands of soy sauce, in soups as thickeners, oatmeal, and, unfortunately for the college student, in beer.
Odish said, “If they could label things as being gluten-free, that would be awesome.”
As of just last week, all of the soups at the Hub now have ingredient labels, which Pleva said he personally managed.
Contamination is another issue. It only takes a crumb to make a celiac sick and many food providers are unaware of the severity of the disease.
“They’ll use the same knife,” said Odish, who has to watch and remind the deli workers of the contamination danger. Ideally, there should be a separate space, utensils, and clean gloves for gluten-free food preparation.
George said, “There was one guy I went to and asked if there was anything gluten-free. He showed me only two things and then walked away and he said, ‘God help me’.”
Antoinette Berns said, “They might not even know what gluten is.”
Now there will be a designated gluten-free area in the D-Hall kitchen and the chefs have received special training. The meals will be made and put in the cooler for students to access.
“Right now we’re focusing on the main dining hall,” Pleva said. If it’s successful, then they will see about expanding to the Hub and Terra Ve.
“That’s really exciting!” Antoinette said of the new additions, adding that she had always stuck to the same thing because she didn’t want to bother the workers.
Pleva only knows of six students with celiac this year, but said, “We like to accommodate all our students and make sure they’re eating.”