2024 FARE Campus Award Winners: Top Campuses for Food Allergies

The Best Campus Dining Award is where dining teams nominate their own schools by sharing what their campus is doing to ensure students feel safe (and comfortable) in their new home away from home!

For the Community Choice Award, community members nominate campuses across the U.S, recognizing the teams of people (i.e., Dining Services, Office of Disabilities, Residence Life, Student Health Center) who work together to assist students with accommodations related to food allergies.

Best Campus Dining award winner is Northwestern University. 

On campus, there are three dining halls, each with a station dedicated to serve food without gluten and the top nine food allergens. The fourth dining hall (Foster Walker Plex East) is an entirely allergen-friendly Pure Eats dining commons that offers self-serve stations, including stir fry and pizza. Northwestern also has a group on campus is called College Advocates for Food Allergy Awareness & Education (CAFAE). The group has tabling events in the NU dining commons and student union with a goal to educate and support students who have food allergies and other food-related conditions. Recently, CAFAE held tabling events to show students how to administer epinephrine using test epinephrine auto-injectors. The NU dining team also speaks with Resident Advisors (RAs) on food allergies and how to act if a student has a reaction. We are also currently working with the admissions team to add in a survey question for newly admitted students to self-identify as having a food allergy so that NU Dining can be proactive in reaching out. 

Honorable Mention for Best Campus Dining Award 

University of Nebraska-Lincoln

UNL features five dining centers – Abel Dining, Cather Dining, Harper Dining, and Selleck Food Court on City Campus, and East Dining Center on the East Campus. The Selleck Food Court is centrally located on campus with seven different restaurant concepts. In the food court, you will find Moxie’s Gluten-Free Café – an entirely gluten-free restaurant launched in the summer of 2022 and Harper Dining’s 8+ line is a standout feature. Initially introduced in 2018, it has evolved to become free of the top nine allergens and gluten.  On weekends, to maintain access, Harper Dining transitions to mobile ordering which includes the 8+ line. Both Moxie's Gluten-Free Café and Harper's 8+ line are in the process of being recognized as FARECheck Gold, having completed their audits and currently improving their processes.

Community Choice Award winner is University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

"With special meal accommodations, a chef manager prepares my meals in a small kitchen, and I have set dining times and text the chefs if times or plans change. It has been working smoothly! I appreciate how kind the chefs are at my designated mealtimes and how they make me feel like I am a normal student who is welcome in the environment.
It is remarkable and I have never been more grateful for the professionalism and kindness. I was also excited to learn about the Stress Less Cabinets and Freezers available to students during all meal periods. The Stress Less Cabinets in both Chase and Top of Lenoir are stocked with snack items, breads, bagels, and desserts that have no gluten, tree nuts, and peanut ingredients. I can take these items back to my dorm in case I need extra snacks."

Honorable Mention for Community Choice Award

Duke University 

"Prior to application to Duke: met with the University nutritionist, dining director and disabilities director; had subsequent video meetings and later on-site including with the freshman dining hall chef; overviewed food preparation, meal options and housing accommodations and what the school offered, as well as the handling of special events that involved catering or off-site meals. The outreach and cooperation led to my son applying early decision because of Duke’s commitment to students with food allergies.

My son now eats at the main dining facility which is an open “food court” with private culinary business owners that offer foods from around the globe. Two of the restaurants (Italian and Mexican) have no nuts or seeds in their meal or food supply chain, making them available to eat at any time. Now, beginning this semester, a new restaurant has opened that prepared and serves food protected from the Top Nine allergens. This is a major plus for hundreds of students, faculty staff and visitors that have food allergies and food preferences."