Bama Dining offers gluten-free, meat-free and peanut-free options in their dining halls as part of their commitment to serve the dietary needs of the increase in students with food allergies.

However, Shelby Brooks, a junior majoring in chemical engineering, still finds it a challenge to decide what is safe for her to eat at Bama Dining locations.

“Chick-fil-A is not an option for me, which is usually the most popular choice in the food court,” Brooks said.

Brooks said she is severely allergic to peanuts and related products, including peanut oil and flour and lima beans, which are challenging to avoid when eating at the dining halls.

“I always have to make sure that the oil that is used is not peanut oil,” she said. “Also, most of the time I can’t eat the desserts because I am not sure if they contain peanuts or were made on the same equipment as peanuts.”

When students enter the dining locations, there are signs that display a Food Allergy Policy statement at each entrance, suggesting that any student with a food allergy should meet with Bama Dining location managers to help them determine what is safe to consume.

Brooks feels Bama Dining offers a wealth of options in their dining halls and food courts and has noticed an improvement in student awareness. However, she wishes the signs were more specific.

“There are plenty of options available, but I usually find a peanut-free favorite and stick with that,” she said.

Bama Dining Services believes good nutrition is essential to good health. To help assist students in supplying their bodies with the essentials for a healthy diet, Kelsey Faust marketing manager for Bama Dining, has come up with initiatives to meet the needs of a gluten-free, peanut-free or meat-free diet.

“We offer gluten-free meals at all meal plan locations upon request, made with gluten-free pizza dough, bread and pasta,” Faust said. “There is also a designated vegetarian station at each meal plan location with informational signs in the food court, Stewart’s Corner and other retail locations highlighting the vegetarian & healthy options at each food concept.”

Bama Dining offers organic, vegan and gluten-free to-go meals as well as ingredients and snacks sold at Julia’s Market in Tutwiler Hall and Lakeside Market, including Albert’s Organics Grab N Go meals.

For vegetarians, Bama Dining offers a weekly vegetarian email that allows students to opt-in to receive a weekly email, listing all the vegetarian menu items in the meal plan locations for the current week. Students, faculty and staff can go to bamadining.com to sign up for the emails.

Ann Elizabeth Sovereign, a sophomore majoring in philosophy, said the weekly vegetarian email helps keep her up-to-date with all the menu items.

“At first, I thought it was going to be miserable as a vegetarian to try and find a variety of foods to eat, but with the email, I am able to locate current menu items,” Sovereign said.

For healthy recipes, tips and facts, students should follow @Just4UA on Twitter. Each Month, the Just4UA initiative focuses on a specific nutritional topic such as weight loss, snack tips, daily recipes, carbohydrates and nutrition.

“This Twitter feed was actually highlighted by Men’s Fitness Magazine as one of the reasons for The University of Alabama to be ranked 10th as the fittest colleges in the United States,” Faust said.