I have celiac disease, which means I’m allergic to gluten. I was diagnosed at the end of my junior year of high school. When I came to UW Stout, I was excited to learn that they have a food pantry for those with food allergies. Perfect! I’ve always had low expectations about gluten-free food. It either tastes really bad or basic. I was so excited about being able to actually eat meals on campus that aren’t just salads.
Basically the food pantry is a tiny kitchen. All of the food is premade, but most of it is frozen or cold. So you have to heat up your meals. That doesn’t sound so bad, until you think about how much time that takes. Whenever I go to eat with a friend, they always have to wait like 5-10 minutes for me to get and heat up my food. That used to annoy me but now I don’t mind it as much.
Sometimes the pantry runs out of plates or paper towels. This is annoying and probably not good for food allergies. You could go grab plates or trays from outside but that risks contamination for yourself or others if you bring anything from the outside. For days there weren’t trays or plates in the pantry, I had to improvise with what I had. I don’t blame the workers, there are only a few people who have access to the pantry, so I can imagine how hard it is to restock anything. But I still expect plates be available for my food.
The food is alright. I have low expectations for gluten-free food; basically if it is edible I will eat it. Some of my favorite dishes include the pasta and pizza. My least favorite is the grilled chicken breast. It’s so dry that I basically have to drench my sandwich in ketchup to be able to swallow it. I have had better grilled chicken at fast food restaurants.
There are always desserts in the pantry, thank god. I love when there are cookies or cupcakes. Whenever I feel like I need an extra something I grab a treat. Whoever bakes these is my favorite person.
My main complaint is that there aren’t enough options in the pantry. I know that gluten-free food costs a lot, but I basically have the same meals every week. I know I could do more combinations but they need to add more options. Like for example, there is no mac-n-cheese. There is cheese and noodles available in the pantry, but no mac-n-cheese. This makes no sense to me. You can so easily get gluten-free mac-n-cheese, and it’s cheap.
In all, I’m thankful for the food pantry at UW Stout. Without it I would be loosing my sanity and probably starving. I hope they improve it in the future. I just want some damn mac-n-cheese!