We are committed to nourishing all guests by providing nutritious options that fit each need, no matter where they dine on campus. We support students with food allergies and special diets for medical, religious or personal reasons by providing the knowledge and resources necessary for students to make informed food choices in our dining locations.
Food Allergies or Dietary Restrictions
It is our goal to ensure all students have a safe and enjoyable dining experience on campus. We label our food selections daily for the top allergens (wheat/all gluten, soy, dairy, fish, shellfish, sesame) along with whether they are vegetarian or vegan. We also label soy when an item contains soybean oil. Because of allergy concerns, we have removed tree nuts, peanuts, and sesame from our menu. Some of our recipes do include coconut and we continue to label for that. We do work in an open-air kitchen system; and use some Ready-To-Use products, we can never fully guarantee that cross contact will not occur. Some products we use have a precautionary disclaimer that we will post with the item.
Celiac Disease & Gluten
We have a separate area that has individually wrapped items that do not contain gluten and a designated toaster. For lunch and dinner, there is plain chicken or tofu, pasta made without gluten, rice, and vegetables available on request. Please ask for assistance and we will show you where these items are. We use tamari soy sauce and gluten free flour for many of our recipes to increase options.
Dairy Alternatives
We have dispensers for soy milk, oat milk, coconut yogurt, and Lactaid milk. We also prepare some dishes with vegan Daiya® cheese and many of our vegetable dishes use olive oil instead of butter.
Communication is Key
If you are unsure about a particular product or its ingredients, please ask for a manager, chef, or dietitian. If they are unable to answer your question, they will find someone who can help you. Or email us at: dining@andover.edu.
Special Diets or Allergies Beyond the Top 9
If you have a food allergy beyond the top 9 or have questions about a special diet, please contact Ms. Ellie Perry at eperry@andover.edu to discuss options.
Where to Start
- Notify the dining team of your allergies and/or special dietary needs.
- Schedule a meeting with the Dietitian. We’ll work with you to develop a plan to help navigate the dining locations and find the best solution regarding your meal plan.
- Keep in touch. If we do not hear from you, we believe that you are successfully navigating the dining locations.
Dining Tips
- Always read the menu, ingredient, and nutrition information for foods you wish to eat to ensure you are properly avoiding the appropriate foods.
- When in doubt regarding ingredients in a particular food, direct your questions to our manager on duty.
- Due to the self-serve nature of the residential dining halls, if you have been prescribed an epinephrine autoinjector, carry it with you at all times.
- Items at self-service stations may be prepared individually for you in our kitchens, just ask a chef or manager or assistance.
- Take caution with deep fried foods as frying oil is reused before being changed and may lead to cross-contact.
Although we take great lengths to accommodate students with food allergies, we prepare food in open kitchens where cross contact with foods containing allergens may occur and we rely on our suppliers ingredient listings and may not be aware of ingredients contained in the food, but not listed on the container or packaging. As such, we cannot guarantee a completely allergen-free environment.
