Pittsburgh, PA (PTTP) – The Eatery and The Perch are the two main on-campus dining locations on the University of Pittsburgh’s main campus. Students participating in a meal plan can swipe in and enjoy a buffet-style meal. For students like Camryn Dorney, it’s difficult to find food options that work around dietary restrictions. Dorney is sophomore at Pitt with Celiac disease, a condition that causes your immune system to react poorly to gluten. Throughout her time at Pitt, she has been fed food that looks a little bit like the following:
Dorney stated “I’m on my own out here, you know? I don’t have my mom to be like ‘Oh! I made gluten free pasta.’ Now I’m having to hunt for that myself and I’m learning that gluten free food is really expensive.” She brought up the fact that Celiac disease is considered a disability, stating “When I was applying for jobs through Pitt, you were prompted to select if you were a disabled individual, in which I was surprised to see Celiac was a part of.” The Americans with Disabilities Act introduced an expansion in 2008 to include Celiac disease and gluten sensitivity in its protected groups.
Corbin Makar, a Student Government Board member, and Chair of the Dining Ad Hoc Committee stated that students can go to the school’s dietitian or the Dining Ad Hoc Committee’s open meetings for help and support. Dorney got in contact with these sources and began to see improvements within her dining options this semester. She noticed more gluten free options within The Eatery. Although Dorney believes there are places Pitt Eats can improve, she’s happy to see some progress; “change takes time and that’s alright.” Pitt Eats was unable to provide a comment about what else they have planned to assist dietary restrictions at this time. At the end of the day, Dorney believes that “No one should wake up and think to themselves ‘am I going to eat today?’ they need to think ‘what am I going to eat today?’”