LSU dining halls have taken steps to accommodate dietary restrictions, but some students feel there’s room for improvement. 

Both the 459 Commons and The 5 dining halls have made efforts to ensure students with dietary restrictions feel safe and have options. Ingredient specialists, standardized recipes, ingredient information, available package labels and training to prevent cross contact are among the measures dining services have taken. 

Exclusive to The 5 is the Pure Eats station, where all the top nine allergens are avoided. These include milk, soy, wheat, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, sesame and eggs. 

READ MORE: Good eats: how students can learn about nutrition on campus

Despite these measures, some students still feel there is room for improvement.

“It would be nice if the actual food that’s for everyone had more allergen labels of what’s in it so it’s easier for people to just come and go instead of having to wait and ask the chefs,” said computer science junior Ben Harrington.

Students can ask for a meal specifically made for them, but the wait time can be as long as 40 minutes, Harrington said. 

Public relations senior Maya Parreira shares the same frustration.

“I can always ask them to make something for me, but a lot of the time it’s problematic because either it takes a long time because they have to go back and cook it fresh or the food that they do have is always the same,” Parreira said. 

Catherine Bowie, campus dietician, believes communication from students is key, adding that efforts to increase awareness are constant. 

“Our guests are strongly encouraged to alert staff of their food allergies or specific dining needs,” Bowie said. “Through my meeting with students, we found that communicating one-on-one about any options assures the utmost safety and satisfaction.” 

While less emphasis has been placed on the markets, it is still something dining services are willing to consider. 

“We try to include allergy friendly things in the markets, but, like I said, we’re always looking for feedback,” Bowie said. “If there’s things that people want to see more of, let us know, we definitely want to try to implement as much as we can.”

READ MORE: Torchy’s Tacos’ free queso for a year promotion prompts LSU student to ‘make an investment’

Students interested in a more tailored dining plan can contact Bowie for an appointment at [email protected].