For the past two years, Lovlean Purewal has had to eat the same food in the dining halls day after day ““ salads from the salad bar or a burger without buns.
Her fear: accidentally eating any wheat, rye or barley products that contain gluten. The third-year sociology student has Celiac disease, an autoimmune disorder where the body can’t digest the gluten protein.
Tired of eating the same meal and paying for a meal plan she can hardly use because of limited gluten-free food options, Purewal, along with two other students, last year approached UCLA Dining Services about expanding food choices for gluten-free students.
And dining officials responded. Starting winter quarter, De Neve dining hall will provide a gluten-free pantry to accommodate students who follow a gluten-free diet, said Danielle Bouton, principal dining services manager at De Neve.
The pantry, which is currently undergoing construction, will be added to the left side of De Neve and will include a cabinet of gluten-free foods and microwaves, toasters, two freezers, refrigerators and shelving, Bouton said. It will also include spreads to be used solely for gluten-free products.
“Right now, we’ll be stocking just primary needs like breads, pastas, oatmeals, pizza crust and a few ready-made items like macaroni and cheese and soup,” Bouton said.
Dining Services had previously tried to accommodate these needs by allowing students to bring their own gluten-free bread and pizza crust to the dining halls, but students found this process inconvenient, Purewal said.
“I’m really passionate about this, because I’ve gone through the struggles of what it’s like to eat in the dining halls,” she said. “You get to the point where you eat the same thing over and over again.”
Ghazain Jamil, a first-year electrical engineering student, follows a gluten-free diet because he said he feels it is healthier.
He said he thinks the addition of gluten-free foods will help other students stay healthy as well.
Purewal spent the summer creating a packet for dining services that outlined quality gluten-free products and costs. These included microwavable meals, bread, granola, cookies and other desserts.
In general, people on a gluten-free diet are not able to eat cereal, chicken base, beef base, pasta, pizza and anything that contains wheat, barley and rye.
The addition of gluten-free food in the dining hall is a big step forward for anyone with food allergies, said Lisa McCorkell, a second-year political science student who also has Celiac disease and brought the matter to dining services with Purewal.
Working in coordination with dining services, Purewal and McCorkell chose De Neve as the only dining hall to undergo these changes. Purewal said she feels food choices at De Neve are already “friendlier” to gluten-free students.
Other universities, including Duke University and Stanford University already have changes like these in their dining halls.