Cal Shin

Eating at Dartmouth: A (Relatively) Allergy-Friendly Edition

One things I was most worried about coming into Dartmouth was food — specifically, finding food that I could eat with my long list of dietary restrictions. I scoured through the multitudes of food-related posts on People, Places, Pines that detailed the wonderful food and dining options on and around campus. However, I was limited in posts regarding detailed dietary restrictions, or how Dartmouth accommodates those with dietary restrictions. Therefore, this is to all my prospective students and families who are worried about eating at Dartmouth with multiple dietary restrictions.

Before my meals, I like to visit Dartmouth Dining's menu to go and see what foods are available at each dining location. The menu allows me to see what's available during each meal period (breakfast, lunch, dinner, late night, and all day), as well as important ingredient information so I can be aware of what allergens certain foods do or don't contain. However, I don't necessarily need to check the online menu. All of the dining locations at Dartmouth have color-coded allergen information next to every menu item (i.e. a blue circle with a d for items that contain dairy, etc.) There are also color-coded indicators as to whether foods are vegetarian, vegan, gluten free, FFA (free from the top 9 allergens), kosher, and halal.

Menus at FoCo are broadcast on these big screens! Each menu item has an indicator next to it stating its dietary restriction/friendliness. This one's sort of an exception because A9 is dedicated to serving foods free of the top 9 allergens.

More often than not, I'll decide to eat at FoCo (Dartmouth's main dining hall) because it has the most options. After looking at the menu, I usually head to FoCo to grab my meal. I like FoCo because of its buffet style; there are a lot of dietary-restriction-friendly vendors ranging from a kosher station, Herbivore (a vegan/vegetarian station), and A9 (an allergy-free station that's been open since September 2023)! I tend to frequent Herbivore and A9 simply because I am allergic to most of the top allergens, and a vegan diet covers most of my allergens. While all the staff at DDS are trained on the risk of cross-contamination, I appreciate that A9 goes above and beyond by serving everything on disposable plates and cups!

The people behind the A9 station! It's gotten to the point where they know me solely by what I order now.

Now, let's get right into the meals:

Breakfast: There are usually 2 booths open in the morning—the bakery with an assortment of desserts (which I normally can't eat due to eggs, dairy, gluten), and Ma Thayer's, which serves traditional American breakfast foods during this meal period. Sometimes, Ma Thayer's will have some steel-cut oatmeal, as well as a tofu scramble (a substitute for scrambled eggs) with vegetables such as beans, spinach, mushrooms, or tomatoes. There's also a self-serve cereal station as well as almond milk and soy milk for those who can't have dairy milk. If none of those work, there are usually fruits such as apples, oranges, clementines, and bananas available! 

Lunch: There are quite a few options during lunch, as this is the time when all the booths are actually open. I usually tend to go for Herbivore's offering of rice and a variety of vegetables, stop by A9 to get some hearty soup (if it's after 12:00 PM, which is when A9 opens), or go to the soup station if I feel like A9 doesn't suffice! Soup and rice is a criminally underrated combination and I would have it every day if I could.

Here is what a meal may look like if you solely get food from A9.

Dinner: There are also lots of options during dinner at FoCo! Herbivore usually switches up some of the vegetable dishes. My favorite meal from that booth is definitely the Singaporean rice noodles—pour in some soy sauce (which they have at FoCo!) and it is absolutely delectable!

This is by no means a comprehensive post. Rather, it is meant as a glimpse into what one person (I) manage to eat good food at Dartmouth. I highly encourage prospective students and families to take a look at the Dartmouth Dining website and do your own research about how Dartmouth takes food safety and accommodations seriously.