Vanderbilt Dining is committed to helping our students with their dietary needs. Whether you have food allergies, health conditions, religious restrictions (including Kosher), or simply need guidance or assistance with your food selections, we can provide the resources to assist you. We have numerous resources to assist our student customers in selecting foods that fit their diet. Our dedicated certified chefs and staff dietitian are here to serve. We make every effort to accommodate our students.
Vanderbilt University is a residential campus, and part of the residential experience is the participation in VU Meal Plans. This commitment to residential meal plans is clearly expressed in the University’s residential requirement and no one is exempt from the meal plan.
Vanderbilt Dining is committed to offering students dietary choices that fit their needs. Vanderbilt Dining offers a wide variety of culinary choices; however we realize that food allergies are a serious matter.
Students seeking dietary assistance in 2009-2010 academic year should submit the Dietary Accommodations Form with supporting medical documentation. It is important that the information given be as complete as possible. Students should explain their special needs in detail and explain what is required in the way dining to meet their special needs.
Allergy Accommodations
If you have allergies to milk, eggs, peanuts, fish, shellfish, soy, wheat, tree nuts, dairy, gluten, or have been diagnosed with such conditions as celiac, lactose intolerance, diabetes, etc., we are equipped to help. E-mail julie.crider@vanderbilt.edu, and she will contact you.
Gluten-Free Items added at Rand Dining Center and The Commons:
- Salad Dressings
- Brown Rice Tortillas
- Rice Chex Cereal
- Individual packs of peanut butter and jelly
The cereal and salad dressings are available for everyone. The tortillas are available upon request (for a sandwich, wrap or pizza at The Commons).
C.T. West (BBQ restaurant in Carmichael Towers) offers Gluten-Free hamburgers.
We offer a variety of meats, fish and poultry daily that can be specially prepared with no added ingredients. Nearly all of our proteins and vegetables can be prepared gluten-free, so please ask. Remember, if you don't see something, or you don't think you can find something to eat, find a supervisor or manager and they will be happy to help you.
Religious Accommodations
Halal: Meats butchered in accordance to Halal are served at Rand Dining Center and Commons Center.
Kosher: Vanderbilt University, with its diverse and growing student population, has come to need supplements to its traditional dining halls by adding the availability of kosher food for its Jewish students on-campus. The most visible of these additions is the Grins (Pronounced Greens) Restaurant located in the Ben Schulman Center for Jewish Life. Grins is run under the supervision of the local orthodox rabbi, Rabbi Saul Strosberg. Due to its popularity it is hard to believe that it is the only strictly kosher restaurant in Nashville.
Among other kosher choices is the Hillel Friday Night Shabbat Dinners. This weekly event attracts over a hundred Jewish students for a strictly traditional Kosher Sabbath meal. As an orthodox Jewish student, it is hard to find a strictly kosher meat meal and for many this is their only meat option they have throughout the week. Students can use their VU Meal Plan to cover the cost of the meal which is subsidized by the Hillel.
Other kosher options that are provided by Hillel are meals during the High Holidays, Bagel Brunches, food during events, and specifically, Kosher for Passover meals, when there are even more restrictions on the observant Jewish student’s diet.
Kosher Items: Vanderbilt Dining has partnered with a local Rabbi to identify appropriate items to offer in our Markets and as part of our VU Meal Plans. The Rabbi consults with us on packaged and frozen kosher items as we do not have the facilities to prepare kosher food items. Kosher packaged entrees are available at Varsity Marketplace and Common Grounds. These items include entrees, snacks, sweets, crackers, cookies, and beverages.
High Holiday meals are provided by Hillel at the Ben Schulman Center and are supported by Vanderbilt Dining.
Resources
For further information, e-mail julie.crider@vanderbilt.edu or call (32)2-2999. |
Meal Plan Periods
