As Lindsay Van Eyk ’27 prepared for her first year at Brown, reaching out to a University dietitian was one of her priorities.
Van Eyk, who has dietary restrictions, recalls scheduling a meeting over the summer with Director of Wellness and Nutrition at Brown Dining Services Michelle Blais, who helped her navigate the resources available for students with allergies at Brown.
Dining Services has “been really accommodating,” Van Eyk said. “It’s been a lot better than I expected.”
Van Eyk is not the only student with dietary restrictions on campus. As of 2021, over 20 million Americans are allergic to at least one food item, according to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America.
For Brunonians with allergies, Dining Services provides accommodations ranging from a dedicated allergen-friendly kitchen to order-ahead systems.
The Sharpe Refectory’s allergen-aware kitchen — which opened September 2023 — serves daily hot offerings that Vice President of Dining Services George Barboza says are free of the nine most common allergens, including nuts, milk and shellfish.
According to Barboza, the allergen-aware kitchen is certified by MenuTrinfo, an external allergen safety company.
The certification process includes a review of “all policies and procedures related to allergen management, including procurement, storage, food prep and more,” according to the MenuTrinfo website.
Shoshana Hoffman Kleiner ’28, who keeps kosher and also eats a gluten-free diet, said she appreciates the setup of the allergen-aware kitchen as an integrated section of the Ratty. She noted that “eating is a big part of your social experiences” and eating separately from other students could be “socially isolating.”
For Daniella Goldrich ’27, the allergen-aware kitchen provides a sense of certainty that she appreciates. “I never even have to look at ingredient labels at all, because I know everything is safe there,” she said.
In the Verney-Woolley Dining Hall and the Ratty, students can also access allergy-free and allergy-friendly pantries: rooms designed to remain stocked with dry foods like bread, snacks and desserts, and equipped with a toaster oven and microwave. The pantries are free of any items containing gluten, peanuts and tree nuts, according to Barboza.
Students with dietary restrictions hoping to dine in the V-Dub can also order their meals ahead of time using a special form, allowing them to request specially-made, allergen-free meals, according to Van Eyk.
“Our team always goes to (the) V-Dub after practice to eat dinner,” said Van Eyk, who is also a student-athlete. She added that the special ordering form “makes it really easy.”
But not all students are satisfied with Brown’s dietary accommodations. Hoffman Kleiner recalled that when she arrived at Brown, she had to navigate Brown’s allergen-friendly options without any support.
She wishes that Dining Services was engaged in more contact with incoming students with dietary restrictions to better help them adjust to campus dining.
“We strive to accommodate all students with dietary restrictions,” Barboza wrote in an email to The Herald. “Information about dining accommodations is available for students who request.”
Dining Services recently added new options to its menu rotation in the Ratty’s allergen-aware kitchen, as well as a stir-fry station at the kitchen every Tuesday for lunch and dinner, according to Blais.
Barboza noted that the menu’s expansion “allows us to offer greater variety and introduce more diverse menu items.” He added that he hopes the stir-fry station will “provide a customizable dining option for students at the allergen-aware kitchen, ensuring greater flexibility in meal choices.”
