One of the most noticeable changes on college campuses over the past generation has been the availability and quality of foods served in dormitory dining halls and cafeterias. Dorm food use to be very institutional and very boring. Meat from who-knows-where, canned vegetables, with lots of sauces to compensate for the blandness with limited choices.
Now, there are lots of choices at most college cafeterias, including UNL. Perhaps to many choices. Sure, you can still get your chips, fries, gravies, and cookies. But now fresh fruits and vegetable are always on the menu, there are salad bars and pasta bars, with plenty of options for vegetarians and other that follow a restricted diet.
Many college dining halls have also developed menus and foods for students who have food allergies (a topic that we will discuss). At the UNL Dining Services website, students can use the NetNutrition tool to plan their meals based on dietary restrictions. This is a terrific website, allowing users to identify foods that contain allergens, but also that are local, Halal, or vegan. UNL even has a separate gluten-free café called Moxies, located in the Selleck Food Court. Moxie’s is entirely gluten-free with an entirely gluten-free menu.
Not only do about 15% of students have such a preference, but according to this article in the New York Times, these preferences can be rather extreme. Allergens, for sure, top the list, and dining halls are generally able to accommodate those requests. But the article noted that a student at one university put in a request for fish heads, organ meats, and bone broth. Another wanted only grass-fed meat and organic produce. Where do you think dining halls should draw the line?
Image From: https://dining.unl.edu/dining-locations/food-courts/