Nutrition and Dietary Considerations

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Self Navigating Dietary and Allergy Needs

With our digital nutrition tools, wide variety of menu options at our dining halls and the always tasty Inclusive Solutions micro restaurants, we strive to make sure you have the options you need to easily meet your dietary needs.

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Illinois App

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The Illinois App allows you to see what items are being served in all of our dining locations (all-you-care-to-eat and retail) for every meal for up to two weeks in advance. You can also see the nutritional information, filter for dietary needs, and the top allergens for each item on the menu.

 

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EatSmart Website

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The EatSmart Website allows you to see what items are being served in all of our dining locations (all-you-care-to-eat and retail) for every meal up to two weeks in advance. EatSmart allows you to see the full ingredient list for any item, in addition to nutritional and allergen information.

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Inclusive Solutions Kitchen Micro Restaurants

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The Inclusive Solutions Kitchen micro restaurants, located in ISR and Ikenberry, offer a variety of food options carefully prepared by our staff. Each option on the rotating menu is free from gluten and all of the top 9 allergens.

Dietary Resources

Vegan/Vegetarian

We serve at least one vegan or vegetarian entrée and side at each dining hall at every meal. Please use EatSmart or the Illinois App and use the vegan or vegetarian filter to search all options in all dining locations. Additionally, we serve vegan and vegetarian Good2Go meals at dining retail locations daily.

Field of Greens, an all you care to eat dining hall located in Lincoln Avenue Residence Hall (LAR), has an entirely vegetarian/vegan menu. Meals are served every weekday at lunch. Soytainly, a micro restaurant, is located in the Ikenberry dining hall and serves an entirely vegan menu.


In addition, each dining hall has a variety of vegan options available. Examples of items you might find in these spaces include:

  • Liquid amino acids
  • Nutritional yeast
  • Ground flaxseed
  • Vegan mayonnaise
  • Meatless deli turkey slices
  • Meatless deli ham slices
  • Vegan cream cheese
  • Vegan American cheese slices
  • Vegan mozzarella cheese slices
  • Vegan yogurt
  • Almond milk (original, vanilla)
  • Rice milk (original, vanilla)
  • Soy milk (vanilla, chocolate)
  • Vegan, soy-free buttery spread

Please ask a manager if you are trying to locate a specific item or would like to make a recommendation for a specific item to be stocked.

Gluten-Free

There are gluten-friendly options served at the Inclusive Solutions micro restaurants at Ikenberry and ISR Dining Halls, as well as accommodation options available through the Inclusive Solutions custom orders program.

Each dining hall has a space for gluten-free products for any student to use. Examples of items you might find in these spaces include:

  • White sandwich bread
  • Whole grain bread
  • Hamburger and hot dog buns
  • Plain and cinnamon raisin bagels
  • Cookies, muffins and brownies
  • Rice Chex, Lucky Charms, Honey Nut Cheerios

Additionally, various gluten-free items can be found in dining retail locations. Please ask a manager if you are trying to locate a specific item or would like to make a recommendation for a specific item to be stocked.

Kosher

Kosher meals are served at Kosher Kitchen, located in Lincoln Avenue Residence Hall (LAR), during the academic year while the dining halls are in operation. Check the Illinois App or our menu page for hours of operation.

These kosher meals are under the certification of Rabbi Dovid Tiechtel of Illini Chabad and in partnership with Illini Chabad. In addition, kosher shelf-stable or frozen meals are available upon request in all dining halls. Kosher shelf-stable meals as well as other kosher products are available for purchase in the dining retail locations 57-North in the SDRP, Terrabyte at ISR and Urbana South Market in PAR.

Packaged kosher meals that were prepared in the Kosher Kitchen are also available for purchase in the Illini Union Quad Shop.

Religious Observances

Residents are encouraged to prepare to-go meals in disposable containers, available upon request or through the Good2Go reusable container program, for meals instead of a food-cost credit. Residents with a meal plan who choose not to dine in the dining halls during a religious observance must email their full name and UIN to housing@illinois.edu to be credited for their missed meals. Residents requesting this option will not utilize their meal plan during the observance and should see the credit posted on their online student account within seven business days of the observance ending.

All University Housing meal plans allocate meals and Dining Dollars weekly at the beginning of each meal plan week. Requests for a credit will only be considered for observances of seven or more consecutive days of missed meals. Credits for missed meals will be issued in full week increments based on an average raw food cost.

 

Halal


Certified halal protein options are available to our residents at each of our dining hall locations. Upon delivery from our certified vendors and distributors (see list below), the halal product is held separately from haram items and dining staff is trained in halal food preparation. Halal options are so prominently used in our cooking that all our meal holders regularly eat halal proteins, because of how often we serve them.
 
Please ask a manager if you have any questions or comments regarding our halal options or send general inquiries to:  hsprocurement@housing.illinois.edu
 
Halal Vendor Certifications:

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Managed Diet and Allergy Programs

Although we offer many ways for students to navigate their dietary restrictions and preferences on their own, we also offer actively managed solutions for those with more intensive needs. These programs involve contact with and direct support from our dietitian and other professional dining staff members.

Dietitian Consultation

Do you have a question about healthy eating, food allergies, special diets or other nutrition topics? Our staff dietitian consults on all menus and can also provide you with guidance on a range of topics, from food allergies to making healthy choices in the dining halls to enrolling in the Inclusive Solutions program.


Examples of what our dietitian can help you with if you are a resident or meal plan holder:

  • General nutrition questions and advice on making healthy food choices
  • Food Allergies and Intolerances
  • Celiac Disease
  • Eating Disorders
  • Diabetes
  • Irritable Bowl Syndrome & Crohn’s
  • Metabolic & Autoimmune Diseases
  • Weight Management
  • Vegan
  • Vegetarian
  • Religious Dietary Observances

Contact Our Dietitian for more information.

Have a simple question? TXTRDN + your question to 55744 and the on-staff dietitian will text back with an answer!

Inclusive Solutions Custom Orders

Our award-winning program, run by our on-staff dietitian, provides eligible residents and meal plan holders with severe allergies or intolerances with a stress-free solution to eating in our dining halls.

The program offers a mobile app for students to order customizable entrees, sides and desserts prior to arriving in any of our dining hall locations during their normal operating hours. The meals are prepared in a separate allergy-friendly area that has special cleaning and preparation protocols and is staffed only by the Dining Allergy Team. All dining services staff receive allergy training; however, each member of our Dining Allergy Team has completed additional training through the MenuTrinfo AllerTrain program, has passed an examination and receives ongoing hands-on training.
 

Questions?

If you have any questions about navigating a dietary restriction or preference, contact us!