For the many students with religious dietary restrictions, University dining service Bon Appétit has worked to accommodate these limitions, as demonstrated by Usdan’s Kosher Section and the attempted introduction of Halal options in 2010. However, according to students with food allergies, Bon Appétit has not made adequate preparations for their needs, leaving them with severely limited options and facing potential health risks.
Emma Vasta-Kuby ’14 has celiac disease, which means that she is unable to eat wheat, gluten, rye, barley, and oats. Although there are many students with this disease at Wesleyan, Vasta-Kuby said that she has been disappointed with Bon Appétit’s accommodations for her condition. She said the gluten-free station, which was established at Usdan in Sept. 2010, has been disappointing.
“It’s really hard, because I can’t have anything that’s been cooked on the same surface as gluten,” Vasta-Kuby said. “So I basically only can eat from the gluten-free section in Usdan. But there’s barely any food there. The refrigerator is almost always empty.”
According to Bon Appétit Resident District Manager Michael Strumpf, there are no plans to increase the size of the section, but Bon Appétit is continuously adding new food options for students with gluten allergies.
“It won’t get bigger size wise, but variety wise, [we’re] always trying to find new items and different items and taking requests from students who utilize that station,” he said.
Dining Manager Marcy Calderoni said that most students seem very happy with the section. She said one of the ways they plan to increase gluten-free options is by starting to offer gluten-free pizza once a week.
Some students have also expressed their frustration with Bon Appétit’s labeling system for food allergies. Caroline McCarthy ’13, a transfer student, is severely allergic to peanuts. Upon transferring to Wesleyan, she was distressed to find that she had no idea what dishes had or had not been cross-contaminated by peanuts or peanut oil.
“At my old school, everything was very well labeled,” McCarthy said. “I came here and nothing was labeled. I would ask the servers if there were nuts in something, and they often didn’t know.”
James Dottin ’13, another student with a peanut allergy, suggested that the Usdan staff is careless about their placement of peanut products.
“There are peanuts everywhere in Usdan,” Dottin said. “People use peanuts very freely, and Bon Appétit puts out peanut products in public areas. If I want to get food from that area, I have to hold my breath. I feel like they should put the peanut stuff in another area away from the rest of the food.”
Vasta-Kuby expressed frustration with Bon Appétit’s lack of labeling on some items.
“Wesleyan doesn’t mark things well,” Vasta-Kuby said. “They only mark things that are very clearly gluten-free, like rice. They won’t mark something they are unsure about because they don’t want to make the effort to figure out what is in the dish and how it is cooked.”
Calderoni said Bon Appétit has recently moved the peanut butter from the toaster area to a new nut butter station to prevent contamination. She said they have also made a more concerted effort to label all foods that have nuts and other potential allergens.
“We’re just really taking a lot more effort to label everything, our desserts, or anytime there’s any kind of nut in a food item we make sure to identify that,” she said.
Director of Usdan University Center Michelle Myers-Brown said that if students are unaware of what is in a dish, they can ask a Bon Appétit manager to find out the ingredients.
“Students can always ask one of the managers on the floor during all meals about specific ingredients if they are concerned,” she wrote in an email to The Argus. “More specific labeling is not planned. Just listing the ingredients could still be problematic since the ingredients may be made up of other components…so rather than listing ingredients we recommend personal interaction with our Bon Appétit management staff.”
Some students with eating restrictions have been less supportive of developments for Kosher students and would prefer that Bon Appétit focus more on catering to those with food allergies. Vasta-Kuby expressed her frustration with Wesleyan’s dedication to serving food for Kosher students.
“I have a serious problem with the size and culture of Wesleyan Kosher foods,” Vasta-Kuby said. “Those dietary restrictions are complete choices. I think it’s unfair that there is a huge Kosher section and a really tiny gluten-free section.”
Although McCarthy appreciates the focus on providing Kosher, vegan, and vegetarian options on campus, she is still angry about the lack of attention that Bon Appétit has paid to her problem.
“It’s awesome that Bon Appétit wants to provide food for some people with eating restrictions, but I think they should also pay attention to life-threatening eating restrictions,” McCarthy said. “While I respect those life choices, I didn’t choose to have a peanut allergy.”
Myers-Brown said that Bon Appétit often works personally with students who have allergies to ensure that the right foods are available to them.
“With regard to all food allergies Bon Appétit works individually with students to help them with menu choices,” she wrote. “We even have a few students that we cook special recipes for our blend foods for. We are fortunate that we have a small student population since it allows students with special eating needs to form a personal relationship with the dining staff; they can work with the staff on specific recipes, specific needs, [and] inquire about ingredients as necessary.”