The people of Brown Dining take food allergies very seriously. Many students and staff are sensitive to nuts, gluten, dairy and other foods, and we try to accommodate those needs whenever possible. Nut allergies are the most common we see and for clarity that is our focus below. However, most of the same principles are broad in scope and also apply when we work with other food allergies.
Our Responsibilities
- We try to label items that do contain nuts and make the nuts as visible as possible.
- We minimize the number of foods we offer in the dining halls that have nuts as a major or minor ingredient. As you probably know, monitoring the ingredients in every item is not always such a simple (or foolproof) task. Our vendors often send us nut-less foods that were made in facilities that process nuts for other products. Sometimes vendors will send us substitute brands on short notice if they run out of inventory of our normal order. In addition, ingredients can and do change, often without notice to us, on many of the products we order. So though we ask vendors to supply nut-free products and notify us of potentially-problematic substitutions, we cannot account for the ingredients in every order.
- In our retail eateries, we try to provide nut-free alternatives to menu items that do contain nuts. Often these alternatives are pre-wrapped for additional precaution.
- We train our supervisors and managers to be aware of the ingredients in the items on the menu and are also educated about common allergies. Staff members are advised on simple steps, like switching gloves, to reduce the potential for contamination when going between handling nut-containing and nut-less foods.
- We are in the process of further refining the separation of nut-containing foods from nut-less foods in both the production and service sides of our operations.
- Use common sense. Be cautious and ask a manager or supervisor first if something looks like it possibly has nuts.
- Let us know if you notice something mislabeled or without a label that should be. We try our best, but we are also human. Your feedback will help us offer better service.
- Let us know your ideas for a more accomodating dining experience.
- Come talk to us about how to develop a healthy eating strategy. Our eateries offer a wide variety of healthy options and so living with a food allergy need not burden your ability to eat balanced meals. We're happy to take the time to discuss tasty and nutritional options that fit your dietary needs. Contact BDS Dietician Gina Guiducci to get advice, assistance and information.
- Salad bars in the Ratty, V-Dub and Ivy Room are always nut-free. Instead we provide sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds. Our hummus is made using sesame seeds, as most are.
- We have eliminated all recipes that call for nuts from the Ratty and V-Dub, though we do offer peanut butter.
- Roots and Shoots in the Ratty and the Vegan Bar in the V-Dub always have freshly prepared dairy-free entrees.
- Ingredient cards for our recipes are easy to find. In the Ratty the binder is on the fruit table on the TV side of the dining hall. In the V-Dub the binder is on the small table by the grill. You can also check ahead online: Ratty, Verney-Woolley and Ivy Room lunch.