The Williston dining hall has changed in various way, particularly over the past four years. New flooring, new drinks, and a whole new food system. For the most part the changes have been pretty good. People seem to enjoy the food and there are many “green dots” in our options. Those green dots above a dish indicate that the food is healthy, but if there are ingredients in food that people with food restrictions are not able to eat, then those green dots don’t really matter.

What about the students and faculty at Williston who have Celiac disease or who are not able to eat any of the food? All of that yummy looking food is great, but they cannot have it.

Celiac disease restricts people from eating gluten, barley, and wheat. When you think about all the foods people eat, especially in a dining hall filled with teenagers, it is hard to come up with food that doesn’t contain these ingredients.

Ms. Mantegna, a Williston teacher, has Celiac disease. She was diagnosed 10 years ago. She says, “The hardest part was the dearth of gluten-free options in the super market and at restaurants. Now, however we are experiencing a gluten-free revolution, and the awareness is just as great as are the options.”

Ms. Mantegna has some advice for those at Williston who have Celiac disease or similar food restrictions. She notes, “There’s always salad and rice.” She also mentions that the people who work in the dining hall have been very helpful and accommodating.

While Ms. Mantegna would love more gluten-free food in the dining hall, she comments, “I am only one lone celiac in a sea of gluten-loving people. But who can blame them?”

There are other people at Williston who have similar food restrictions as to those who have Celiac disease. JJ Celentano, a senior at Williston, has been a Type 1 Diabetic for five years now.

Celentano also says that he manages to get by, but he also says, ” I try to have a well-rounded diet as best I can but when the dining hall is serving foods I have never heard of it is difficult for me to do that, I often have to gravitate towards pasta and vegetables.”

JJ also mentions that he has a “shocking amount of Ritz crackers and granola bars in his room because they are easy snacks for me to have whenever I want/need them.”

While people with food restrictions at Williston are “getting by” with the food in the dining hall, there still could be more options to accommodate those with food restrictions.