Man versus hunger — a timeless strife that has plagued our world for thousands of years. The first established human societies were limited to a life of foraging and hunting, oftentimes going days without eating anything, their bodies wasting away and starvation prevailing. Although society has since evolved, this struggle lives on today in the form of Binghamton University’s very own gluten-free student body.

In a New England Celiac Organization (NECO) 2016 college survey, 44 percent of gluten-free college students “said eating gluten-free food on campus had been a problem their entire college career.” BU is no exception. Dining halls claim to be accommodating to students who have celiac disease or other related dietary restrictions, yet students are still lacking necessary options to maintain a nutritious diet. With no gluten-free dining halls, and minimal choices offered by Simple Servings, students have no way of being assured they will have a nutritious meal accessible to them every day. Without this guarantee, oftentimes, their needs are forgotten or met with utter disregard.

According to The New York Times, “an estimated 5 to 10 percent of college students have celiac disease or other gluten-related disorders.” BU is home to its own community of students belonging to this substantial number. Gluten-free students on campus are forced to plan ahead, seek out gluten-free options and constantly talk to staff just to get the bare minimum of meal choices. Without adequate dining options, this portion of students is susceptible to many health concerns stemming from missed meals, including low blood sugar, low energy levels or unprecedented weight loss, leaving them energy-deprived.

This overall depletion in well-being affects every facet of a student’s life, including extracurriculars, schoolwork and social obligations. By not accommodating students, the school is sending a message that they think it’s OK for their students to function in this manner. Students can only live like this for so long before they crash and burn. Food is fuel, too, and we have allowed students to compromise their welfare due to circumstances out of their control for too long.

While the lack of gluten-free meals has plagued BU as well as schools across the country, it doesn’t mean that it cannot be resolved. There is a plethora of affordable programs that train culinary workers and raise awareness as to the seriousness of celiac disease and other conditions surrounding gluten intolerance. For example, The Gluten-Free Resource Education Awareness Training (GREAT) Kitchens program for schools provides solutions to dining services that have previously overlooked gluten-free dining while showing them why they should care about implementing them. Such programs prove that accommodating students should not be a luxury reserved for the lucky few, but a necessity that all should care about.

Simple changes that can be made start with labeling items on the menu that are already gluten-free. Students that struggle from severe gluten intolerance of any kind will not want to risk ingesting it, so this small step could make waves in alleviating them of these worries. In 2020, the use of the app Bite by Sodexo was implemented at BU, allowing students to plan and order their meal ahead of time, as well as flag their allergens. While this should make planning meals a bit easier for gluten-free students, Bite often has very long wait times for meal pickup. One friend of mine at BU who expected to receive their meal at the scheduled time of 6:40 p.m. did not actually receive it until more than an hour afterward, and they’re likely not the only one. Streamlining, switching to a more effective app or improving Bite’s process could allow students to wait a shorter amount of time for their food, which would go a long way in bettering the quality of their dining experience.

In addition, BU should provide more gluten-free options at dining halls, as they recently have with the College-in-the-Woods Dining Center’s Grill 86 “Everything but the gluten” section. It is the only way to assure that these students will always have food available to them. Whether it be by expanding Simple Servings to include a wider assortment of options or creating a new space specifically targeting this kind of mission, it must be done in some capacity. There is truly no other way to make certain that the school will pay proper attention to this aspect of food service and to ensure that these students will no longer be ignored.

Other universities are already making the necessary changes to their dining services. Nashville’s Vanderbilt University is only one of many schools that have made a difference in the lives of their gluten-free students. At their Rand Dining Center, there is a venue called 2301 with a menu that accommodates the top eight most common allergens, including gluten. They offer a widely praised array of food options, including saute bowls, salads and smoothies. It is known as being one of the most popular dining areas on campus. One of the greatest benefits of potentially adopting a venue similar to 2301 is that allergen-free dining offers a place that all students, even those without restrictions, can embrace. It prioritizes inclusivity and community while ensuring that of all stresses college life can bring, food does not have to be one of them.

It’s time for BU to leave food strife in the past, one meal at a time.

Julia O’Reilly is a freshman majoring in biology.