Campus dining halls go gluten-free

With over 5,600 colleges and universities in the country serving over 1,000 meals per day, it can be difficult to stand apart from the pack. In today’s competitive landscape, C&U operators are using their dining halls and food offerings as a point of difference, rather than a point of necessity, to attract potential students.

Catering to the diverse tastes, health preferences and allergy restrictions of incoming students will continue to contribute to the overall success of college dining halls in the next year.

Today’s college students prefer healthier food options than the generations before them. Fresh, local produce and complete nutritional transparency are important to these students. Due to this desire for transparency, 88% of colleges and universities now share nutritional information for each item served in their dining operations, according to research from FoodService Director’s The Big Picture.

“In our dining halls, we share nutritional information for every item we serve,” says Andy West, certified executive chef for Barrett, the Honors College at Arizona State University. “We also have a full-time registered dietician available for student consultation.”

Along with a heavier focus on nutrition comes an increased awareness of allergens and how different foods affect the body. For example, in recent years, many Americans have opted to limit their gluten intake for a multitude of dietary reasons.

Sixteen percent of U.S. consumers today are actively seeking to limit gluten, a protein naturally occurring in wheat, barley, and rye, in their diet, according to research from Datassential. One percent of the U.S. population—about 3 million people—are estimated to have celiac disease, an intolerance for gluten in any form. College foodservice directors must offer gluten-free options in order to create an inclusive environment for all students.

Although there is little scientific evidence to support people without celiac disease eliminating gluten, many consumers associate this diet with a healthy lifestyle—some people even claim to feel better when limiting their gluten intake.

“Gluten free continues to grow. Just 10 years ago, only 1% of menus called out gluten; today, it’s 20%,” says Alison Henley, senior analyst at Datassential, “Out of the thousands of different trends Datassential tracks, gluten free is among the fastest we’ve ever seen.”