CALYPSO-SKY HAHN-MAURER
Special to The Leader
When returning to SUNY Fredonia for the fall semester, students might have expected to come back to the Cranston Marché to enjoy a bowl of ice cream. Instead, the ice cream bar was replaced with a gluten-free station.
The real question: Why the change?
The Executive Director of the Faculty Student Association (FSA), Darin Schulz, explained the reasoning behind this sudden change.
“The goal of the gluten-free-friendly station was to provide dining opportunities that would be free of an allergen that provided a health risk for someone that is gluten intolerant or suffers from celiac disease,” he said.
According to Schulz, FSA does a survey once a year to receive feedback from students.
“We hear comments on a daily basis, but we usually do a survey…and we also have students that approach us with dietary concerns,” Schulz said.
According to Schulz, allergies have become a main focus on college dining at Fredonia. Three years ago, FSA went tree nut-free in Cranston. Then, two years ago, they went completely nut-free, changing recipes to better fit those with allergies.
Now, FSA focuses on becoming more gluten-free for its students, staff and faculty.
“To be gluten-free friendly, we could convert the ice cream bar to [be] gluten-free and have Cranston be a safer place for those with celiac [disease] or gluten intolerances to eat,” said Schulz.
The gluten-free station at Cranston offers several options such as gluten-free pasta and made-to-order pizzas.
Since the ice cream bar was replaced, what does FSA offer now for ice cream options?
“Jason [Domenico, head of Cranston Marche] had the great idea that he and his staff came up with where we can serve ice cream novelties,” Schulz said.
Cranston Marché offers different ice cream novelties, such as chocolate and strawberry crunch bars, small ice cream cups of different flavors and fruit popsicles.
Fredonia is a diverse community, where many students may have different dietary restrictions and allergens to account for, such as being vegan and vegetarian.
Will Cranston also offer more vegan options to students on campus?
“There are also vegan options available at the new gluten-free friendly station, but we do not have any space available to offer a vegan-only station,” Schulz said.
Cranston now gives students more options for a broader range of dietary needs for its customers.
“I think that’s really going to give a lot of parents…[and] prospective students peace of mind,” Schulz said.
