FAQ's for Students with Food Allergies or Special Diets

Contact Beth Rosenberger, RDN to discuss your individual needs and develop a plan that will provide as many options as possible. She's happy to work with students who have a new diagnosis or who need modifications or accomodations to their current plan. She can be reached at  603-646-1740 or at Elizabeth.A.Rosenberger@Dartmouth.EDU.

Yes! Dartmouth Dining staff is trained to identify problems associated with food allergies and preventing cross contact during preparation and service of all the meals we serve. We are diligent about following recipes and labeling each, and every dish is served with the appropriate food classifications and allergens. We label for the top 9 most common allergens as well as pork and coconut.

Menus and nutritional factors for today's menu are at: menu.dartmouth.edu/ 

All management team members complete AllerTrain U, while the vast majority of our hourly-paid staff complete AllerTrain Lite. Both of these certificate programs are ANSI certified. In addition, nearly all of our full-time staff are ServeSAFE certified from the National Restaurant Association.

Members of our management team are trained to recognize an allergic reaction and signs of anaphylaxis, and are certified in the administration of CPR and epinephrine.

Ongoing review of all allergy training materials and practices are conducted with staff on a regular basis. 

From the intial order to our approved vendor to your plate, our purchasing manager, storeroom staff, chefs, servers and front-of-the-house staff read labels and packaging, double-check recipes, and review menu boards and identification cards to make sure that what we serve is accurate and correctly labeled. 

Disclaimer notice:  Dartmouth Dining uses ingredients that might contain dairy, soy, tree nuts, peanuts, eggs, fish, shellfish, wheat, gluten, sesame or coconut. On occasion, manufacturers change product formulation without notifying Dartmouth Dining or our suppliers, and cross-contact is possible. Students need to be aware of the risks and take responsibility for asking the manager on duty or chef if they have questions or concerns. We are happy to show you labels and recipes and allow you to tour our kitchens and storage spaces. 

Universal epi-pens are available at all dining venues. Our management team is trained to recognize an allergic reaction and signs of anaphylaxis, and to administrater epi-pens.

Students who alert a staff member of an allergic reaction or who have another type of emergency are encouraged to stay in the facility. Calls will be placed immediately to 911 and College Safety & Security, while a staff members stays with the student in distress. 

Members of our management team are trained to recognize an allergic reaction and signs of anaphylaxis, and are certified in the administration of CPR and epinephrine.

• Limit cross-contact in self-service buffet lines by asking a staff member to serve you an individual serving from food that has not yet been placed out for service.
• Avoid fried foods since many different types of foods are potentially prepared in shared fryers.
• Review daily menu offerings; become familiar with different allergen tags and food classifications.
• In dining venues where food is prepared specifically at your request,
  • ask cooks and servers to change their glove before starting your order,
  • have the staff clean and sanitize surfaces and utensils before starting your order, and
  • request items from back-up containers. They are happy to assist you and have been trained to do this.

It's best to personally meet with Beth Rosenberger, our registered dietitian nutritionist, and/or other members of the dining administration. Feel free, however, to speak with any staff member in any of our dining locations. We're happy to show you recipes and food storage or prep areas, and you're welcome to look at labels of any product we serve.

You are encouraged to self identify and to ask questions. 

Cross-contact occurs when an allergen is accidentally transferred from an allergen-containing food to a non-allergen-containing food.

There are no ingredients used at the A9 station that include any of the TOP 9 common allergens. All ingredients are vetted and regularly updated with manufacturers for accuracy.

We encourage you to inform the server at the A9 station, or any of the dining facilities of your allergens so that we can help in assessing the risk of possible cross-contact with your meal. You are encouraged to ask for a portion of food to be served directly to you.

Avoid fried foods even though they may be free of your allergen since many different types of foods are prepared in these fryers, and cross-contact may happen.

All employees are educated in proper food handling and cleaning procedures, proper cleaning procedures of hands and surfaces frequently and in between different tasks. Employees are instructed to always wear gloves and change often. We change out utensils frequently to limit chances of cross-contact. 

Schedule a meeting with the staff dietitian, Beth Rosenberger (Elizabeth.Rosenberger@Dartmouth.edu)

She can review your specific allergens and offer ideas and strategies on how you can eat safely and navigate the different dining areas. Dining will work with you to customize a plan to accommodate your specific dietary needs.

Always keep your epi-pen or medication on you and dine with a friend who is aware of your allergies and is also knowledgeable on how to administer an epi-pen. Dining does have universal epi-pens in all of our dining locations in case of emergency.