The University of Michigan is one of 12 schools selected to launch a national pilot program aimed at providing campuses with gold-standard recommendations and evidence-based resources to effectively manage food allergy, a potentially life-threatening disease.
Food Allergy Research & Education (FARE), a non-profit working on behalf of 15 million Americans with food allergies, introduced the College Food Allergy Program to provide students with a safer college experience by developing comprehensive, uniform food allergy management policies.
Michigan Dining provided input for FARE’s pilot guidelines on “Managing Food Allergies in Higher Education,” as well as training materials and student brochures. The pilot guidelines will now be put into place throughout the Ann Arbor campus.
“The FARE pilot program is a natural fit for us. We already have comprehensive tools in place for students, faculty and staff to easily identify the ingredients and preparation of food served on campus. We’re proud to raise the bar for a healthier experience,” said Michigan Dining Director Steve Mangan.
With a database of 10,000 recipes using 40,000 ingredients, Michigan Dining chefs prepare a daily variety of dishes that include gluten-free, halal, vegan and vegetarian selections. MHealthy dishes are specially designed as low-fat, low-sodium and reduced sugar.
Additionally, many ingredients are procured from farms within a 250-mile radius of Ann Arbor in support of the university’s sustainable practices.
Through digital menu boards, point-of-service signage, websites and mobile apps, Michigan Dining provides nutritional and allergen information for all food served in residential dining halls, retail units and catered events on campus. Michigan Dining’s registered dietitians offer one-on-one counseling and online tools to guide students in making good choices.
“We strive to serve everyone’s nutrition needs and make sure our dining halls are inclusive. Parents of students with allergies can have peace of mind that their student will have plenty of options,” said Lindsay Haas, a nutrition support specialist who represented Michigan Dining during FARE’s College Summit in January.
Beginning in 2016, FARE will launch a database that will give all colleges and universities in the United States the opportunity to list the components of FARE’s program and guidelines that they have implemented. This will assist parents and students as they make important decisions about where to attend school.
Kari Dumbeck
I’m glad to see this kind of help being provided to both students and their families on campus but the real truth of why we have allergies has not been mentioned at all. I’d like to see more studies come out and show that it’s our food and beverage sources that are a MAJOR factor in most of our allergies todate. I for one have 30 of them and I had to pay for my own testing to prove to my doctor they existed. We eat junk food that is not “organic’ by any means and anything that is labeled as “natural” really is man made chemicals. That’s what we need to teach our kids. How to read labels, what they mean and the dangers of eating/ drinking this ingredient. Diseases are labeled such so that drugs can be thrown at them when in fact we can be healthy by changing what we eat and drink!