Nourishing Diversity: Allergy-Friendly lunches at AC

As someone living with Celiac Disease (an autoimmune disease which requires a strict gluten-free diet), it is not always easy to find safe food outside of my house. When I first came to Allendale Columbia in the fall of 2020, I was worried about a variety of issues navigating a new school, and due to my dietary restriction, figuring out lunchtime was one of those issues. I knew that packing my own lunch was not as socially acceptable at AC as it was at my previous school, and I wanted to partake in this “familystyle” tradition that I had been told so much about.

Luckily, before the first day of school even arrived, I had already been put to ease by Reynolds-Gorsuch’s welcome email, which detailed the allergy menu for the week and explained the gluten-free substitutes her team could provide. For many people, this simple act does not seem very special, but for those of us with severe allergies, it feels incredible to be listened to and cared for in this way. Things only got better from there. I quickly learned that the AC chicken nuggets - a food item rarely enjoyed by celiacs - were gluten free! In fact, everything that the fantastic AC chefs whip up (whether it be pizza, paninis, tacos, brownies, corn bread, the soup of the day, etc.) are all either naturally gluten free or can be made gluten free with allergy precautions (ie. new gloves and saran wrapped food).

While I do not know the exact number of gluten free students and faculty at AC, I cannot imagine it is an extremely large number of people considering the small size of the school population as a whole. Thus, for the AC lunch ladies to go out of their way to make something special each day for the few of us that do have this struggle, it is truly amazing. The lunch staff go even further than just knowing your dietary restrictions, though. Just the other day during the senior celebration lunch, a kind member of the AC alumni committee went to grab my gluten free food from the dining commons. The lunch was turkey and cheese subs that day and Ms. Reynolds-Gorsuch knew that while I am not vegetarian, I am not a fan of sandwich meat. When the alum returned with the food, she told me that she was going to get the regular gluten free sandwich for me, but Miss. Reynolds-Gorsuch told her that I prefer the one without the turkey. I smiled because even though I wasn’t there, Miss. Reynolds-Gorsuch knew that random preference and was looking out for me.

After spending three years at AC the lunch staff has felt like family to me. They genuinely care about the AC community and work tirelessly to make each student feel safe and special. As a result of all of this hard work, the AC lunch team has earned a variety of well-deserved awards and recognitions such as the 2020 Golden Carrot Award for healthy lunches and outstanding health initiatives.

If you have had similar experiences as me with the wonderful AC lunch staff, Laura Reynolds-Gorsuch, Patricia Babcock, Kristie Clark, and Rachel Loveless, do not hesitate to share your stories and appreciation with The Howler or the staff directly.