Tips for Managing Food Allergies at University or College

If you’re reading this, you might be getting ready to head off to university or college in the fall, so congratulations on the next chapter of your life! Before we jump into this post I want to let you know that although there are important things to consider regarding your food allergies, it should not deter you from following your dreams or having an incredible time at school.

In this post I share my own experiences, as well as quotes from other adults with food allergies who went to university or college, or are still students. It is so fascinating to see how everyone handles their food allergies differently!

Can you move away from home or live in dorms with food allergies?

The answer is, it is up to your personal comfort level. I went to the University of Toronto, in my hometown, but I did stay on campus in dorms and then in an apartment for the duration of my schooling. I wanted the “away” experience but my parents were not comfortable with me being too far away because of my history of anaphylactic reactions. They wanted me to be within driving distance for in case I had surprise hospital visits. I had wanted to go to U of T from a young age anyways so this was a good compromise. I was quite obsessed with the school and still am. And, I did have several reactions that landed me in the hospital while I was a student so I was happy that my parents were just a phone call away.

Let’s hear what Hannah Copas had to say about her dorm stay:

“The idea of leaving home for university was quite scary for me because I felt like I had this newfound independence which in some ways I didn’t feel ready for. I think as a child I probably gained my independence at a slightly slower rate than other children because of my food allergies. For example, my mum would always be a parent helper on school trips so she could make sure that I was kept safe, and whenever I had sleepovers with friends it would always be at my house as this was the safest option. Being alone at university and being fully responsible for managing my food allergies was tough at first. I think the main thing that I struggled with was being the sole person checking food labels, and trusting that I had checked them correctly. This is something that I found just took some time to get used to.” - Hannah Copas, @letstalkfoodallergies

Go on campus tours if possible, and check out accessibility services

When applying to schools I made sure to go on a tour of each one where I noted what the dorms looked like and what would be the best fit. I toured Woodsworth Residence at Bloor and St. George, and immediately knew that was where I needed to be. It was an apartment style residence building and each unit came with private bedrooms, a kitchen shared by between 4 - 6 people, and 2 washrooms. It was competitive to get in but I made it a priority. I also met with the Accessibility Office on campus to secure my spot. They had to register me as a disabled student, which was the first time I ever had to lean on the fact that my disease is legally a disability. I was able to book an appointment and speak with a counsellor about my needs as a student, and she made sure that I would be given a unit at Woodsworth and placed with any other allergy students living there. As it turned out there was one other girl my age with anaphylactic allergies and we were placed in the same suite. They also gave us the 4 person suite so that there would be less kitchen traffic.

Hannah Copas has some great strategies for living with new people:

“I moved away to university a few years ago now. In the first year I stayed in the halls of residence on campus, and shared a flat with 5 other people. The idea of sharing a kitchen with people other than my family was quite daunting for me at first, because I knew that I would have to be very careful when preparing my food due to my food allergies. On the first day that I moved in, I told everyone about my food allergies and they were all very understanding about it which made me feel more reassured and comfortable in the flat. I decided to also show the other two girls in my flat how to use my epipen which helped me feel much safer too.” - Hannah Copas, @letstalkfoodallergies

Chat with your roomates, inform your residence RA

Let’s hear what Kortney Kwong Hing has to say about staying in residence:

"I lived two years in the dorms. My first year was a 'suite' my roommate and I had our own rooms, shared a kitchenette and bathroom. Her favourite meal was peanut butter on a sesame bagel (both allergens for me)! I never said anything about my allergies when we first met and had to have an awkward chat with her about how leaving a peanut butter-covered knife and not wiping the sesame seeds from the counter was going to be problematic. This happening in the first month of moving away from home was a big learning curve and taught me a lot about how I would need to manage my food allergies being on my own. - Kortney Kwong Hing, @thezestfull

If you have registered your food allergy requirements with the school, they should communicate it to the RA on your floor. But you still have to give them the rundown yourself! It is important that you explain your allergies, cross contact, your emergency plan, where your epinephrine can be found, and any other pertinent details. This is your responsibility. You may choose to inform your roommates all at once or one by one, whatever works for you. But make sure that they know. When I moved into res, I had one other roommate with allergies, but two roommates who had never heard of or met anyone with allergies before. We all sat down as a group with our RA to have a conversation about cleanliness, emergency plans, etc. We wrote out our allergies on the fridge using a whiteboard marker so that they were visible, and we implemented a no nut and peanut rule in our suite. I was pleasantly surprised that my roommates were so on board with it and eager to keep us safe.

We broke up the kitchen into separate zones for each of us to store our food. We often found ourselves all preparing dinner at once, and everyone was careful to avoid making a mess or leaving crumbs or spills behind. Everyone brought their own plate, cutlery, cup, and mug, and I kept mine in my room and washed it after each use. I lived in that same unit the following year but with 2 different roommates, and we enjoyed planning meals and baking together. This is where my love of cooking helped me to make friends and eased any worry or tension about my allergies. Putting yourself in a leadership position for these types of events is beneficial.

Frosh Week, or Freshers Week, and making new friends

Danielle the Allergic Traveller shares her experience:

“During my first night in residence a girl across the hall asked if I wanted some cookies her mom left with her. I replied “oh that’s ok, I have a peanut allergy,” to which she replied “omg! Me too!” and proceeded to wave her epipen at me. We spent two years living off campus together in our peanut-free paradise of an apartment, sharing the desserts our moms boxed up when we visited home, and spent our year abroad sending each other photos of safe treats we found along our paths. Whether it was an intentional plan to have the allergy kids in the same area of residence or a total coincidence, it resulted in the first friend I’d ever had who also had allergies (and many peanut-free home baked snacks I’d have otherwise gone without ;) )” - Danielle @allergictraveller

Like Danielle, I also met some fellow allergy people when I moved into residence. There was a guy on my floor with a peanut and sesame allergy, and one of my roommates had a peanut, nut, egg, and dairy allergy. While we didn’t become lifelong friends or really have a connection, it was nice to know that there were others on my floor who understood the situation, and my roommate and I often chatted about allergy life. I remember finding out about the guy with food allergies when our whole floor went out for dinner together. He and I were the only ones who didn’t eat, and later when everyone went to McDonald’s he mentioned that he couldn’t eat there because they use sesame seeds on their bread. It was comforting to hear someone else talk about their allergies just like me.

Frosh week is a pretty crazy week! You’ll meet hundreds of people, probably wear a ridiculous outfit, likely stay up all night at least once, and be exhausted by the end of it. You will likely not speak to 95% of those people again. You might make a few close and lasting friendships. Or you might choose to not attend frosh week at all. In first year I went to many of my frosh events but not all of them. I happened to run into a couple other friends from elementary school who were also attending U of T and staying in different dorms. While I didn’t go to all of my own frosh events, I did go to several of their frosh events and concerts which was a lot of fun. Every school organizes this week differently, but the general gist of it is that the daytime is filled with group activities, there are parties at night, and at the end there’s a concert. I think this formula is pretty standard.

I treated this week just like I would any other event or party; have 2 epi pens with me at all times, don’t eat random food or drinks, eat beforehand if the event is at a restaurant or if I know I will be out all night.

Let’s hear what Hannah has to say:

“A lot of my favourite memories from my university experience are from nights out. In the UK we have something called ‘freshers week’ in the first week of university, which, put quite simply, is a chance to get a lot of the partying and drinking out of your system. This is something I really enjoyed as it’s a great way to make friends and meet new people. I don’t feel like my food allergies affected my experience of freshers week at all because I felt so safe. I had told all my flatmates about my allergies and two of them already knew how to use my Epipen as well. I would, of course, always carry my two epipens with me wherever I went and stuck to drinks that I knew were definitely safe for me.” - Hannah Copas, @letstalkfoodallergies

Party Culture, Fraternities and Sororities, and Food Allergies

Lindi shares her story:

"Heading off to uni was a wonderfully scary time, just as it is for everyone. I wasn’t afraid because of my allergies, it was mainly moving to a new country without my safety net (my mum). We prepared for the allergies part. We went through scenarios of when I might be in danger, we discussed my boundaries, talked to the school and my roommates before hand so I didn’t have to do it all by myself when I got there (and I would have allies when I was there). My mother talked to me about taboo topics as easily as she taught me about laundry. I knew how to use my auto injector and how to show people. We scouted restaurants, supermarkets, bars etc so I would feel safe and I had suggestions on where to go, and I knew the power in saying no. Boundaries were a big topic, and it was very important that I knew myself enough to feel comfortable in being the only one who didn’t eat. Being at uni was the best time of my life, and I only remember the food that I did eat, not the times that I couldn’t. Be prepared and you will have the best time." - Lindi @theallergytable

There’s not much for me to say about fraternities or sororities because I was not part of one myself. They aren’t a big part of the university or college experience in Canada, and while some people do join them, it’s more common not to be part of one. At one point a friend of mine was trying to convince me of rushing a sorority, but it wasn’t of interest to me. The concept of hazing also freaks me out.

But I did find myself at many frat parties especially in the first two years of being a student. My rules for being safe about my allergies were not all that different than rules for keeping yourself accounted for in general. I didn’t accept drinks that anyone handed me. I always got my drink myself, and only drank if I knew what the brand was and that it was safe for me. I never shared cups, used a dirty cup, or drank from anyone else’s cup, and preferred bottled or canned drinks. I stayed away from drinking games like beer pong or king’s cup, and if people didn’t get that or tried to convince me to leave my comfort zone, I would just disappear from the room. I prefer not to have a food allergy discussion with a bunch of loud, drunk, people (or if I was loud and drunk at that point myself). If someone did thrust a mysterious shot into my hand I would pretend to take it and actually just throw it on the floor. You will have to decide best to handle these situations yourself, and when it is appropriate to have an allergy discussion or not.

Being completely on your own for possibly the first time

Amelia has some great wisdom to share:

“I moved into student accommodation when I first went to university in Newcastle (UK). I shared with 5 people I was randomly placed with in my first year and then with friends in private rentals in my following years. I was a little apprehensive about how people might feel about not eating nuts around me, but I have to say the vast majority of my shared housing experiences have been really positive. Most new housemates were really accommodating once I outlined the severity of my allergies and just as I made compromises for other people, people were happy to compromise for me too. My tip would be to be upfront with people early on so that you can find a good friendship group with those who are willing to be accommodating of your needs.” - @nutfreeamelia

This feeling is permanently etched in my brain; on my third night of uni I was out with my friends, a group of people I had just met, with whom I already had inside jokes and felt protective of, and we were walking down St. George street late at night. It suddenly hit me that I was completely on my own. It was the most invigorating feeling. I wish I could have captured it somehow, but instead I just have the memory of myself at that moment, feeling blissfully young and free.

Being on your own for the first time can be scary or it can be exciting. It’s what you make of it. If you trust in yourself to make the right decisions, and to forgive yourself when you make the wrong ones, it can be an incredible point in time. Always have someone you can call on if you need to, and make friends with people you feel you can trust.

When you finish high school you go from being a big fish in a small pond to suddenly being a minnow in a wide open lake. Not every person you meet will have your best interests in mind or will be trustworthy. But these are things you’ll have to figure out as you go, and as you grow into an independent adult.

While I have made plenty of mistakes and irrational choices myself, there are a few nuggets of wisdom that I can pass on in regards to food allergy life.

• Know where the nearest hospital is, and the local emergency number

• Know when your Epipens expire and be proactive about renewing them in a timely manner

• Get comfortable showing those close to you how to use your Epipen and what to do in the event of an anaphylactic reaction

• Don’t let your guard down when your friends want to go out for late night food!

To conclude

University or college can be an incredible chapter of your life, and your food allergies and fear of anaphylaxis should not hold you back! Remember that you will just have to find your own way of doing things, as is always the case with food allergy life.

What to read next? Visit my FOOD ALLERGY TRAVEL page