10 Colleges for Students with Food Allergies

Navigating a food allergy can be difficult and often brings its own stressors.  While most colleges have created plans to help serve students with food allergies, there are some that stand out from the rest.  We’ve curated a small list of colleges with excellent allergy awareness and accommodations to ensure a student will feel comfortable and stay safe!  As always, make sure you speak to the colleges you are interested in ahead of time to see if they can adequately serve your needs.

If you are looking for even more information, this article on allergy friendly campuses and this article on gluten free campuses may be extremely helpful!  In addition, check out this scorecard system by FARE (Food Allergy Research and Education).


  • Cornell University - Each food item is clearly labelled for all students.  In addition, Cornell offers a 100% certified peanut, tree nut and gluten free dining hall! 
  • University Michigan - Students rave about the clearly labelled food items.  They also offer gluten free pantries in 2 dining halls plus a database of 1900 gluten free recipes.  All info for each meal served can be found on their MyNutrition tool.
  • University of Connecticut - The first college  to have a 100% certified gluten free bakery.  Their pastry chef has helped create some of the yummiest treats for the students. Hint: Their cookbook is amazing!
  • Vanderbilt University - Students have the option to request separate meal preparation from the campus kitchen as needed In addition, the staff utilizes suggestions from the Student Allergy Advisory Council. In addition, they recently opened up a “top-8 [allergen] free” cafe.
  • University of Illinois - Besides “Top 8 free” offerings in each dining hall and well-labelled meals, students can fill out a form ahead of a meal and a chef prepares one meal just for them!
  • University of Texas at Austin - Has a unique Food Allergy Center on campus along with a Food Bar in most dining halls that feature foods free of the Top 8 allergens.
  • University of Denver - Large TV screens with food listings and allergen notices are posted in the dining hall. In addition, all foods are labelled for allergens and all staff are AllerTrained.
  • Tulane University - Tulane encourages all students who have food allergies to meet with the on-campus dietician. They also offer dining halls and sections of dining halls that are designated Peanut- and Tree Nut-free!
  • Loyola Marymount University - One of the first universities in the nation to become an accredited GREAT school by the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness.
  • University of Colorado - Boulder - Labels all foods with Top 8 allergens plus gluten. Grab and go allergy-friendly meals are available to students throughout the day along with gluten free snacks and bakery items.




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