The Struggle is Real: Tips for Commuting College Students With Dietary Requirements
By Sarah Vasilakos
Fall 2022
When at home, it’s easy to have access to foods within your dietary requirements. As soon as you leave the house, what do you do? You no longer have access to the foods that undoubtably accommodate your dietary restrictions. Having a specific food limitation can be extremely difficult to adjust to when attending college, especially if you commute to campus. Dietary restrictions can be because of certain medical conditions, food allergies, personal choices, religious beliefs, and many more reasons. Being limited to what you can and cannot eat can be difficult to navigate as you adjust to college life.
As a college student commuter, you are limited with what food is available for you. According to research, over 80 percent of college students commute to campus in the United States. Then, add in a dietary restriction, and it is even more limited. College students who live off campus with dietary restrictions not only have to plan their meals while traveling to and from class but also while on campus. If you are a college student who commutes to campus, there are several tips that may help you navigate your food restrictions while getting your degree. Some of these include prepping your meals ahead of time, researching your college’s meal plans, and researching nearby food establishments. Below, you will find information on how to navigate having a dietary restriction while commuting to your college campus.
Planning Ahead: Preparing Your Meals Before Your Day
Being a college student can be stressful. Commuting to college while having a specific dietary restriction can add more stress in your life if you are not planning ahead. Preparing your food at home is great way to ensure that your foods are safe and follow your specific dietary restrictions. For example, if you have Celiac disease, when you are at home, you have reliable options to choose from that you know are gluten-free. Additionally, meal prepping is a great way to make sure you can get in your daily essential nutrients. The article, “Meal Planning as a Strategy to Support Healthy Eating,” states that meal and menu planning have long been recommended during nutrition counseling to help individuals manage dietary constraints and disease-related conditions that require special diets. By prepping your meals and snacks and keeping a few treats in your car, you can make sure to stay on a healthier diet as well as staying within any food restrictions. There are so many options of snacks to keep in your car for easy access. High protein options are the best to travel with, for example, protein balls. They are customizable, fulfilling, and easy to make in advanced. Research showsthat those who planned their meals were more likely to have better diet quality, determined by greater adherence to nutritional guidelines and higher food variety scores. Taking the time to plan out meals daily will set you up for success while commuting to and from college.
Don’t know where to start? The first piece of advice is to take it step by step, and do not try to plan every meal right away. Meal prepping can be overwhelming as a college student; it will get easier the more you do it. The planning and preparation of each meal takes a lot of time because you have to make a list, go grocery shopping, and make each meal. That can be very time consuming. Trying to plan too much in advance just adds extra unnecessary stress. Nutritionist, Tracy Duda, says, “Set aside a block of time before a busy week to shop and prep the food. Be sure to have containers for the food once it’s prepped and date the containers. Try to use the same main ingredient (such as chicken) and find different recipes to change it up.” If you are going to try preparing your meals, make sure you stick with maybe one or two meals to start. Keep in mind this is a process, and there will be times when you want to give up. Nevertheless, do not be too hard on yourself. Afterall, it would not be considered college unless you had some stress, right? For more information on meal prepping, check out this article on how to meal prep.
There are so many options of snacks to keep in your car for easy access. High protein options are the best to travel with.
Accessible Accommodations: Knowing Your College’s Meal Options as a Commuter
Before the school year starts, you will need to research the meal plans that your college offers. There are many types of meal plans colleges provide that can accommodate your specific dietary needs. The article, “Types of College Meal Plans,” states that there are four different types of meal plans a student can purchase, including a commuting meal plan, at most colleges. A typical off-campus meal plan is a “light plan,” which mean limited options and is only one meal per day. If you have specialized dietary needs, colleges will often work with students to create specialized and allergen-free meals while on a meal plan. The Food Allergy Research and Education (FARE) website has a food allergy college search to help students find out if their college offers specialized and allergen-free meals. Utilizing this tool can help you determine if purchasing a commuter meal plan is beneficial or not for your convenience. However, many colleges only offer one specialized meal per day, so you may need to prep your other meals on this plan.
Another challenge for commuting college students is making sure that they get the essential nutrients they need even though they do not have their “safe” foods. While they had an abundance of options at home, students find that on campus, the food selections accommodating their specific specialized diets is constrained. Research shows that as individuals transition from home to college life, nutrition becomes even more of a concern because food options are limited due to less variety than you may have at home. These limitations cause certain dietary challenges to arise. Research shows that some college students did not seem conscious of having three meals a day but preferred to have numerous snacks steadily throughout the day. This means that even though some students are not getting in three full meals, they are still able to meet their daily nutritional needs by eating several snacks during the day. Getting the important nutrients can be challenging for commuting students, but taking the proper actions for your own specific diet will make the difference.
If your college offers a meal plan, they may have a commuter specific meal plan for students who live off campus. More and more colleges recognize that many students who commute are on campus for an extended amount of time without the opportunity to eat meals like those who live on campus. In order to make sure you get access to meals while on campus you will need to notify the appropriate administrative office of any dietary restrictions you have. The Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Connect Team (FAACT) College Resource Center states that contacting your college dining services or the disabilities office is important to establish any food accommodations needed. A growing number of colleges are working to ensure that students with specific dietary restrictions are taken into consideration, so make sure you reach out and see what your college can do for you even if you do not live on campus.
Get to Know the Area: How Communication Is Important
When you are not able to use your college’s meal plan and you have not prepared any meals ahead of time, another option is locating a restaurant that accommodates people with dietary restrictions. Some of the best ways to navigate eating out with food limitations are checking the menu in advance, calling ahead, and being upfront about any constraints or allergies you have. Registered Nurse, Jean Llamas says, “It is wise to read the menu to evaluate nutritional ingredients. If the information is not provided asked to see someone in the restaurant who can give you more information.” Not only would it be useful to communicate with staff immediately can help determine what you can and cannot eat but also checking the food-allergy information online for that particular restaurant.
Knowing what exactly is in the food you are getting from a restaurant when ordering out can be extremely difficult and stressful. However, restaurants have come a long way in accommodating specific dietary challenges, including people with severe food allergies, strict religious food limitations, or chronic diseases. Chef cards are a great way to combat these feelings of stress while eating out. A chef card is a small, printed piece of paper that indicates your food restrictions, whether they are related to allergies or religious beliefs. The article, “Preparing for College,” states that using a chef cardcan help communicate your needs to the staff restaurant. You can download these cards directly from FARE’s or any related website. Being transparent with the restaurant staff, verbally or through the chef card, is going to be the best way to make sure your restrictions are accommodated.
The Key to Success: Thinking Ahead and Using Your Resources
As a college student commuter, you are limited with what food is available for you. Add in a dietary restriction, and it is even more limited. Planning your meals ahead of time, researching your college’s meal plans, and researching nearby food establishments will help you be successful while commuting to campus. Just remember, you are not alone, and there are a lot of resources available to help you be successful. Research shows that about one in seven college students has some type of dietary restriction. Although your specialized diet can be challenging, it is not impossible to adapt to your temporary commuting schedule.
Sarah Vasilakos is a senior at North Central College. She is pursuing a Bachelor of Business Administration in Human Resources and Marketing with a minor in Business Management. During Sarah’s junior year of college, she was having some digestion issues and found that she has a gluten intolerance. This completely changed Sarah’s dietary habits, and she had to adjust what she could and could not eat along with adjusting to the commuter college lifestyle. Finding the correct balance between her diet needs and commuting to campus has been extremely difficult. With hard work and preparation, Sarah has learned to maintain a balance between her busy schedule and her new dietary requirements.