Commons has completely cut its allergen breakfast spread. For someone like me who is lactose intolerant and is falling apart like a stand-up skeleton, accessible food options are what keep me running. Imagine my horror when I saw that all there was left for me to eat for breakfast was clumpy oatmeal, toast and unripe bananas. Sometimes, the oatmeal is not even available, or it is a liquidy river of fiber.
Another thing; what has happened to the fruit? Not only are they not divided by their respective fruit types anymore, but the quality has noticeably changed for the worse. The other day, I made the courageous decision to try the fruit again. The spread looked fresh, and the honeydew twinkled in the distance. I ran in glee, thinking that this time would be different. Then, I saw that the pineapple had brown holes in it. Holes, readers, holes that made me rethink my choice to try the fruit again.
By cutting out a good amount of allergen options, what healthy options are left for me and others with food allergies to indulge in? At this point, I am going to be found in the corner munching on onion rings every day of my life, and eventually my high cholesterol will take me to Ranger Bear heaven.
For those out there that may be thinking, “What about the dinner options?” Admittedly, compared to the nonexistent breakfast, at least there are decent dinner options. Why am I not commenting on lunch? In my view, everything after 11 a.m. is dinner at that point. I will go to the allergen station at noon, and come back later for dinner at 8 p.m. only for the same options to be there. Who wants to have the same food twice a day?
Never mind the day of the week that it is. Commons will quite literally serve the same thing for almost a week sometimes. If I had pork and rice every day of the week, I would vanish into the Drew Forest. The food quality also changes every day. One day, the rice can be pleasant. Another day? The rice will be so hard that I think I’m chewing on my brace brackets. Also, coming back to the never-ending pasta, the quality of the food is never consistent.
For our last course, dessert, I hope my pain can be understood by my fellow students. As you can imagine, I cannot eat any of the desserts in the dessert section because everything has dairy in it. Maybe the person with an average digestive system has not noticed it, but that tiny gluten-free fridge by the bananas was my salvation last semester; being that everything was also dairy free.
Every time I would go to that frosty fridge door, there would always be something waiting for me. Dairy free blueberry muffins, chocolate muffins and sometimes brownies. There was not much variety, but we were a family. We went through hungry and full times together; but we were together nonetheless.
Why, I ask the heavens; why me? My already small dessert options have become minuscule. That frosty refrigerator is no longer home; the only things left are the blueberry muffins, and a good amount of the time they aren’t even available. As a lactose-intolerant person with the digestive tract of a 70-year-old, do I not have the right to enjoy a sweet treat? Do I not have the right to have a chocolaty, dairy-free brownie that won’t destroy me? I think it is everyone’s right to have a sweet treat, but mine has been taken away by the limited options at Commons.
It is not the staff’s fault that the options are so slim for those with food allergies. They are doing the best with what they have, and they work hard to provide everyone with their meals. It is what they are given by the school that is the problem.
When I committed here, I was assured that there would be a variety of options for my dietary restrictions. Is that a promise that Drew can no longer uphold? I want to be able to enjoy food like everyone else, despite my allergy, and I should be able to. But with an already small allergen section being cut to barely any options at all, I am left most days circling around Commons trying to find something I can eat and enjoy without worrying that it may contain dairy.
Kayla Kieran is a first year exploring her major.
Featured image courtesy of Dee Cohen.
