Section 1: Tips and Tricks
Going to college can be tricky and for a college student with food allergies the obstacles are even larger. Here are some tips we have compiled for what we think is almost every situation under the sun, feel free to use as many as you want!
Dining in the Dining Hall
Living With a Roommate
Rushing and Greek Life
Parties
Talking To New Friends About Food Allergies
Talking To New Teachers About Food Allergies
Talking To Your RA About Food Allergies
Dating With Food Allergies
Studying Abroad With Food Allergies
Cooking With Food Allergies
Initiating Auto-Injector Training
More Advice?
Dining in the Dining Hall
- Don’t blow off your meetings with the dining staff, if you make it seem like you don’t really care or like finding safe foods isn’t your priority, then the dining services people are going to feed off that attitude and they won’t take it as seriously either.
- Be reasonable. The dining hall staff cooks for thousands of kids a day, they are not your personal chefs. When asking for an accommodation, do not ask them to make you pizza if you are allergic to milk and tomato and have celiac and expect them to come up with alternative ingredients to your allergens.
- Rotate your meals. Don’t eat the same thing for breakfast lunch and dinner. You will be missing out on the key nutrients that you need. Switch it up. If dining services can only make you one safe food, maybe it is time to look at some other accommodations.
- Don’t get too comfortable, yes it is important to feel safe, but you don’t want to have a false sense of security. Every time you order something, remind the staff of your allergies because you never know if ingredients have changed, staff have forgotten your allergies or if there are new staff who may have slipped up.
- If you have a dairy/milk allergy, be sure to always refer to it as a "milk" allergy when speaking to food handlers. It may sound counter intuitive since you aren't just allergic to milk - but all dairy products. Milk is an ingredient in sour cream, yogurt, cheese, ice cream and butter. On food labels for those or any other milk containing food the label will say "contains milk". No label ever says "contains dairy". So, if your food handlers and preparers are looking at labels to check to see if a food is safe for you - you want them to be looking for "milk". Also, some people mistakenly think eggs are dairy because they are commonly found in that section of the grocery store, even though eggs come from chickens.
- Don’t eat in the dining hall without your epinephrine. Obviously no one wants to have a reaction in the dining hall, but be prepared in case you do have one.
- Be smart. Don’t eat food that looks suspicious or that you are uncomfortable eating.
- Avoid places where cross contamination is likely to occur like salad and pasta bars and other self-serve stations. If you want a salad, ask the chef to make you one in the back and set it aside for when you are ready for it. Same goes for all the other food at the self serve bars.
- Don’t forget to say thank you. Yes you have every right to be accommodated but being gracious will go far and make the staff more willing to accommodate you and help you out.
- If there is a problem with getting safe food, ask to speak directly to dining the dining manager. Don't have your parents call.
- Be willing to take the time to consider what food you want and to communicate that in advance if necessary. In a huge school with allergen free stations there may be variety every day. In a small school with fewer kids, you may be able to meal plan once a week with a dining manager who can tell you what will be served to the general population and what they can do to make it safe for you. But you have to be willing to meet, talk on the phone or exchange emails. We attended a conference with dining hall staff and food allergic kids. The complaints we heard from dining staff were about students not willing to communicate. And the complaints we heard from students were about lack of variety.
Living With a Roommate
- Explain to your roommate your food allergy upfront. Don’t try to hide it as it could put you in danger.
- Show them where you keep your stationary epinephrine pen (if you choose to leave 2 in your room and have 2 on you) and your action plan so if you have a reaction they will know where your pens are and be able to help you. Explain the symptoms of anaphylaxis. "My tongue will swell up and I will have trouble speaking clearly. That is when you give me the epinephrine if I can't do it myself." If they want to, you can even let them practice with your training device.
- Lay out what you need. If you need them to keep food you are allergic to out of your room, let them know that. If you need them to was their hands before coming in the room, ask them to do that. You can supply hand wiped to keep by the door. Make reasonable requests, that don’t require them to alter their lifestyle. Always give them a way out and explain that you will not take it personally if they feel they need to find another roommate.
- If your roommate breaks your agreement or puts you in harms way, tell them about it. Explain to them why it could harm and kindly ask them to not do it again. If it happens on a regular basis, talk to your RA. Your RA is there to help keep you safe and resolve any issues between you and your roommate. You may be able to move to a different room.
- If you have a mini fridge in your dorm, label your food so that your roommate doesn’t accidentally cross contaminate it or eat it. Also, make sure everything in the refrigerator is in a sealed container or plastic bag.
- Share your food. You don’t want your roommate going hungry, so buy lots of safe food both of you can enjoy. Single serving packets also help insure your safety and keep the bugs and roaches away!
- Keep plenty of clorox wipes available as they can help clean messes up in a pinch but will also remove the allergen residue left behind on door knobs or common use appliances and furniture.
- Use disposable plates and utensils. This isn't the situation in which to be eco friendly. You will not have the proper cleaning facilities to remove allergens from reusable dishes or utensils. Instead, buy plastic utensils and paper plates, bowls and cups.
Rushing and Greek Life
- Know the culture of the organization. Although rushing is usually kept secret it is often easy to discern as to whether or not you will be expected to do something out of your comfort zone. Although hazing is not allowed at most schools, it still happens, so be smart.
- If you are in a situation that could endanger you, stop. Being part of a sorority or fraternity is not worth your life. There are plenty of other ways to build community and get involved on campus that will not put you in an unsafe situation.
Parties
- Don’t drink from punch bowls, kegs or funnels.
- Don’t smoke from hookahs or bongs. If people have put their mouth on it, it is a no go since allergens can be passed through saliva.
- Alcohol can contain “food” ingredients. For example, vodka has potato in it, most beer has gluten in it. Know exactly what is in your drink before ingesting it.
- Consider bringing your own drink.
- Parties are essentially a huge group of people getting together to blow off the steam from the week. In other words, you have a lot of responsible people in one place who want to be irresponsible for the night.
- Food allergies make it impossible to let our guard down without risking our safety. Don’t let other’s carefree behavior make you forget about your number one goal, which is to be safe.
- If you do choose to drink, find a sober friend who will know what to do if you have symptoms of anaphylaxis.
- Don't get high or wasted to the point where you are not able to monitor your food intake.
Talking To New Friends About Food Allergies
- Most likely your food allergies will come up quickly in conversation, especially if you have special housing accommodations. Don’t be embarrassed or make it a big deal, and your new friends won’t think it is a big deal.
- Do let your new friends know the symptoms of a food allergy reaction, in case of an emergency. Tell them and show them where you keep your emergency medicines.Teach your new friends how to use your auto-injector in case you need it. I promise you they will love learning about it! You will quickly know who real friends are based on those who care about the fact you have food allergies and those who don’t.
Talking To New Teachers About Food Allergies
- Chances are, all your teachers knew about your food allergies in high school, but college is different. Many of your classes will be so big that the professor won’t have time to keep track of your name let alone your allergies. In this case, telling your professors about your allergies may be unnecessary.
- If you feel more comfortable having your professor know, you should tell him or her. Most colleges make professors hold office hours which are times you can go ask for extra help. Go to your professor early on before lots of people come with questions and introduce yourself and tell him or her about your allergies.
- If you are in a class that deals specifically with food like a cooking class or a lab, let your teacher know RIGHT AWAY so that they can make sure you are able to remain safe while completing the work.
Talking To Your RA About Food Allergies
- RA's are excellent resources for first year students. They are there to have your back, give you tips and keep you safe. During the first week of school, introduce yourself to your RA and explain your food allergies.
- Give him/her a food allergy action plan so that he/she can help keep you safe. Show your RA where you keep your emergency medication and how to use it just in case.
Dating With Food Allergies
- Before you get too close, explain to your date about your food allergies and what he or she needs to do to keep you safe such as brushing their teeth, washing their hands or avoiding your allergens.
- Please know that teeth brushing alone does not remove allergens from saliva. Before kissing your date, make sure they have not eaten your allergens for at least 4 hours and that they have had an allergen free meal. Doctors say that this is the only way to truly rid your date's saliva of your allergens.
- Only expect them to avoid a reasonable amount of food. If you are allergic to milk, that is unfair to expect him or her to avoid all milk products. If you are only allergic to peanuts, it is ok to ask them to avoid peanuts because peanuts are relatively easy to avoid. Be careful. Even if he or she has claimed to avoid nuts, they may have unknowingly eaten something that contained your allergen (remember their body will not have a reaction if they eat your allergen so they will most likely not know). Always have them brush their teeth and wash their hands before kissing.
- Go on non-food dates such as dates to the amusement park to remove attention from food and your food allergies from the focus.
Studying Abroad With Food Allergies
- Consider going to a country where there is medical care similar to the U.S. such as Europe or Israel. Some countries don't even have auto-injectors. Some countries have a larger percentage of food allergic citizens than others, so they are more accustomed to accommodating allergies.
- Avoid going to a country where you do not speak the native language. It is easy for food allergens to get missed in translation.
- Know the words for your allergens in the country you are visiting.
- At home or abroad you can carry a card that explains you allergies in several languages. This is always smart because there are often non-native speakers in a restaurant kitchen - as restaurant jobs are often first jobs for new immigrants. Allow your server to take the card back to the kitchen.
- Know the culture around food. Some countries’ culture may revolve around 7 meals a day vs. 3 like we do in the US. Some cultures view turning away food as a sin and can be offended. Some cultures may have communal bowls where everyone eats out of the same bowl together. These are all things to consider.
- If you are going on a program where all the meals provided are preprepared, make sure the chef knows your allergies and is willing and able to accommodate you before you leave.
- Tell your chaperone about your allergies and about your medications in case of emergency.
- Consider traveling with a friend who knows your allergies and how to keep you safe so you feel less alone.
- Avoid home stays as they make it impossible for you to control the environment you are living in, and could expose you to different kinds of allergens like pets and dust.
Cooking With Food Allergies
- Cook a weeks worth of meals at once and freeze them in individual portions to keep food from going bad.
- Offer your friends meals when they want in exchange for going with you to the grocery store.
- Learn kitchen safety at home before moving on campus to avoid silly mistakes that could lead to a smoke alarm going off or worse, a fire.
- Don’t change your diet too much. If you are used to eating fresh vegetables daily, continue to do that so you don’t mess up your body’s “rhythm”.
- Find supermarkets close by that have the specialty items you rely on. If you can’t find exactly what you want, try ordering it online.
- Make cooking safe food a fun activity for you and your friends. Try inviting them to help make a meal. They will learn more about your allergies and the extra hands will make your cooking time fly by.
Initiating Auto-Injector Training
- Talk to your RA about training your floor on how to use auto-injectors and how to train students in auto-injector administration and recognizing anaphylaxis.
- Consider starting an auto-injector training initiative club by talking to the club supervisor. At Pitt, we named our initiative Project ePITTnephrine. You can come up with clever names too.
- Talk to allergen friendly food companies about supplying food for your events as an added bonus.
- Talk to auto-injector companies like Mylan, Sanofi, Amedra, and Lineage about supplying free trainers at your events.
- Emphasize that training can make you a hero!
More Advice?
- Looking for advice on a topic not here? Submit your question down below.
- Have advice we don't have? Submit it down below for others to see.
- Join the FARE Teen Food Allergy Support Group on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/FARETeenFoodAllergySupportGroup/ a group only for teens to talk about food allergies and ask questions.
- Join the College Food Allergy Social Group on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/760938040611135/ also run by FARE for college students.
- Keep reading, we get more specific about certain topics further in this section.
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