The availability of allergen-friendly food for college students experiencing food insecurity: Exploring current campus practices. 2024

Megan Elaine Miller, and Yamini Virkud, and Giovanni Mariano Rodriguez, and Wendy Gordon Pake
Department of Population Health, New York University Langone Health, New York, New York.

BACKGROUND The burden of dietary restrictions includes the high cost and limited availability of allergen-friendly products which disproportionately affects people with food insecurity. OBJECTIVE To better understand access to allergen-friendly food for college students experiencing food insecurity with food allergies or other diet-treated conditions by surveying college campus food pantries. METHODS A total of 120 randomly selected US colleges/universities were recruited to complete FOODiversity's Food Insecurity Questionnaire about campus food pantry operations, dietary restrictions, and food-insecurity initiatives and provide details about their resources and training dedicated to supporting food-insecure young adults who avoid specific food(s). RESULTS Of the respondents, 48% ask students about dietary restrictions at food pantry intake, 37% track the number of patrons with restrictions, 30% process allergen-friendly product requests, 17% train staff about dietary restrictions, and 4% modify processes to accommodate dietary restrictions. Of the 48% who inquire about dietary restrictions, follow-up interventions vary in levels of accommodation. Dairy-free and gluten-free products are most frequently requested, and gluten-free products are the most donated/stocked and most difficult to accommodate. CONCLUSIONS Food pantries play a critical role in reducing the burden experienced by food-insecure individuals; however, most pantries are unable to provide sufficient accommodations for clients with food allergies or other diet-treated conditions, including staff training, provision of allergen-friendly products, or identifying food-insecure college students with dietary restrictions, and promoting food allergy safety and nutritional impacts.

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