Saturday, October 16, 2010

college visiting

Hi there all you parents of college seniors... or juniors. I'm here to tell you that while it's not always pretty (I'm not getting out of the car, I don't like the look of the place) college visiting is not bad --allergy wise.
All colleges we have looked at have been accommodating--at least on paper-- about allergies. The cafeterias have been easy to negotiate and most have Vegan and Veggie and kosher areas that offer a variety of foods without eggs and dairy which is good. Most places I've seen also have a gluten free area including toasters-- so that's good too.
We recently had lunch in one of the college cafs --my son ate from his previously packed lunch-- college visits are no time for accidents! As we inspected, I saw that the staff used separate utensils for each dish served; there was little spill over-- at the hot service bins, the salad bar was a different story. and there were a number of options for my multiple food allergic son: kosher roasted chicken, white rice, plain burgers and fries, roasted "steak" and steamed vegetables-- choice actually.
The salad bar was OK, but the dressings were a little sloppy -- ingredients were listed for every meal, including the allergens, on easily visible cards. And the servers were more than happy to help me with ingredients and with labels.
It was a relief, but also the slamming knowledge again of how every day these allergies are a negotiation in life, a task, a risk.
I know that our kids are up to it, just wish they didn't have to be.

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