When freshman Vivi Machi wants a cookie at the Fresh Food Café (FFC), she reaches over the stack of peanut butter cookies and tries to find a chocolate chip cookie untouched by the others. She knows she's taking a risk, but her EpiPen is close at hand if she needs it.
Machi has an anaphylactic allergy to peanuts, the second most common food allergen in the United States after shellfish.
As a freshman, Machi is required to purchase a dining plan that includes meals at the Fresh Food Café, the primary freshman dining facility, in addition to dining dollars, which can be used at various dining venues on campus.
Neither Aramark, the dining provider for Hopkins since July 2006, nor JHU Housing and Dining has explicit policies regarding students with allergies.
According to Dave Furhman, the director of Dining Programs at Hopkins, dining services do their best to accommodate the special needs of all students who dine at campus facilities.
"We design our menus to appeal to the most students and to ensure that we have sufficient variety and options for everyone," he said.
However, for some students with severely limiting allergies and food intolerances, the options provided by campus dining facilities are not quite adequate.
Freshman Lauren Brown has a wheat intolerance, which prevents her from eating most flour and grain-based foods. After dining at the FFC for the first few weeks of the semester, Brown found that her frequent trips to the salad bar were becoming dull.
"It's easy enough to get sick of the [food at the] FFC when you eat there everyday," Brown said. "But I have a more limited selection than most people, so I got sick of it especially fast."
Brown approached JHU Dining to request a change in her current meal plan, which includes 14 meals per week ant 200 dining dollars per semester. She felt that fewer meal swipes and more dining dollars would allow her to find better dining options due to her wheat intolerance. However, the change was not made.
"The response I got [from Dining] was that the most important thing is for all freshmen to eat together," Brown said.
Furhman acknowledged that one of Dining's goals is to give all students the same communal dining experience, even those with special dietary needs.
"We work very hard to offer the broadest variety for every student, including those with food sensitivities and allergies," Furhman said. "If they aren't finding what they need based on their dietary needs, we try to give it to them."
According to Furhman, there are steps students with allergies are encouraged to take to become familiar with the menu. Any students who identify themselves as having a food sensitivity or allergy can be introduced to the head of the culinary staff in that facility.
"The staff at Nolan's and FFC are aware of what ingredients are in the foods they serve, but students are encouraged to meet with the head chef so they know who they can use as a resource for definitive information," he said.
So far this year, four freshmen have approached Dining with concerns regarding their food allergies, according to Furhman. These students have met with the head chef in the FFC to discuss any questions they had. In these meetings, the head chef points out certain "safe zones" in the dining facility, so the students know which areas may pose risks based on their specific allergy or food sensitivity.
Brown was invited to meet with the head chef at the FFC to talk about her dining options with regard to her wheat intolerance. However, she believes that her dietary restrictions would not be eased by discussing what she can and cannot eat, since wheat is an ingredient that she can easily spot in foods. Her difficulty is finding enough options in the FFC that do not include wheat.
Machi has not sought out the help of the staff at the FFC in regard to her peanut allergy.
"I feel like it depends on self-intuition and being aware of what your body can tolerate," Machi said.
However, Machi does not share Brown's sentiment that her choices are limited due to her peanut allergy. According to Furhman, with the exception of sealed peanut butter cups, no peanuts are served at the FFC. One reason for this is to reduce the opportunities for contamination with foods that contain peanut products.
Machi was also not aware that she had the option to approach JHU Dining to discuss her dining options with the chef at the FFC.
According to Brown, these accommodations for students with allergies are not well publicized.
"You really need to seek it out yourself and be proactive," Brown said.
Though allergy accommodations are not explicitly publicized, Furhman said that the JHU Dining brochure mentions that dining will work with all students to accommodate their needs.
"At the end of the day, the responsibility falls on whoever is dining to self-identify their needs to the staff," Furhman said.
