MOORHEAD – An average student walking into Anderson Commons is greeted with many different meal options to choose from. But for students with dietary restrictions, options are limited.
“The main dish that they (Anderson Commons) have is not gluten-free for the most part, so then I turn to second options like a burger with a gluten free bun,” junior, Anna Kronbeck said.
The diversity, equity and inclusion commission responded to an Instagram poll conducted by The Concordian stating “Students have approached us with concerns around limited healthy vegan options.”
Other students responded to the same poll stating that they aren’t able to find healthy main dishes, or that the only healthy options they could find were at the salad station.
In a subsequent Instagram poll conducted by The Concordian, students expressed that they wished Anderson Commons offered more of a variety of options that were vegan or vegetarian.
One user wrote: “The options are super super limited and don’t change throughout the semester.”
One way that students could find options to fit their dietary needs is by scheduling an appointment with Kaylee Juntunen-Novak, Concordia’s registered dietician who works in dining services (DS).
Juntunen-Novak, who earned her graduate degree in dietetics from Concordia, is new to the position this year. She coordinates with the Anderson Commons staff along with students who have reported allergens.
“We provide resources such as coated menus, we do have a new station called the aller-free station which provides a cooler, a toaster, a microwave that is completely allergen free,” Juntunen-Novak said.
She also mentioned that DS is working on getting another piece of equipment that would allow students to have more freedom to make their own meals that are allergen free.
Another part of Juntunen-Novak’s role is meeting one-on-one with students.
“I have recurring nutrition counseling with students, so any student with a meal plan can have nutrition counseling,” Juntunen-Novak said.
This can range from managing medical conditions, dietary reasons, general nutrion or athletes looking to improve their performance through their diet.
After an initial conversation, Juntunen-Novak takes students into DS and shows them what options are available for them.
“Typically I always kind of go down and we’ll do a tour, so you feel a little bit more comfortable knowing where things are, because I can talk about it, but knowing where things are is a bit more challenging,” Juntunen-Novak said.
If students are comfortable, Juntunen-Novak will also introduce them to Anderson Commons managers who they can ask to restock items at the various stations.
This can be an awkward interaction, so Juntunen-Novak likes to make the introduction to smooth out the process.
Even though the intentions of everyone involved are good, the stations for those with dietary restrictions don’t always produce the best meals.
During her sophomore year, Kronbeck didn’t have a meal plan but often paid daily to eat in DS. One time when utilizing the sandwich station, she recalled being served moldy bread.
“It was literally the top of the sandwich had mold on it. And I just got served it because they don’t monitor the gluten-free options as much,” Kronbeck said.
Along with being gluten-free Kronbeck also avoids dairy.
She recalled that when she asked for refills at the dairy free milk station it didn’t always happen, or she would be told it was refilled when it wasn’t.
“One time I went up and asked the dining services worker to see if they had something in the back, and I was very polite about it, I was like ‘oh I’m gluten free and I noticed this is out would you be able to check if there is more’ and they just like walked away from me,” Kronbeck said.
Kronbeck has had conversations with the DS office staff about her concerns, but has found that those conversations don’t always translate into Anderson Commons.
“Like you’re hearing a lot of one thing from the office and then you go to the dining hall and it’s like half true,” Kronbeck said.
Juntunen-Novak encourages students wishing to know what resources are available to reach out to her by email, kjuntun2@cord.edu, to schedule an appointment. Students can set up a one-time appointment to voice a concern, or set up routine nutrition counseling.
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