NDSU’s “Clean Eats” provides healthy, allergen-friendly options for students

The first-year program's menu is served at the West Dining Hall

FARGO, N.D. — The goal of the Clean Eats Program at NDSU is simple; make food that tastes good, but is allergy friendly as well.

The dining menu located inside the West Dining Hall is aimed at providing full plates of food for those with dietary restrictions. All food served is made from scratch and is free of the top eight allergens: fish, shellfish, dairy, soy, eggs, nuts, pine nuts, and wheat or gluten.

“We like to make an all-inclusive environment to accommodate different dietary restrictions for the students,” chef manager Patricia Vetter said. “A lot of people deal with gluten intolerance or lactose sensitivities. Our culinary staff works really hard to make sure all the students feel included.”

So inclusive, that the program even provided a menu for one of the most important food days of the year

“We had Thanksgiving and we served about 2,000 students in this dining center and  what was great is that people who had the gluten sensitivities or any other allergy sensitivities were also able to enjoy turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy,” Vetter said.

While the main focus is to provide allergy-friendly options, the menu also ensures another great benefit for the Bison.

For student athlete and senior exercise science major, Cole Karcz, it’s an easy way to stay healthy.

“I am an athlete myself so I know a lot of my other athlete friends like to eat here because it is healthy,” Karcz revealed. “Trying to build our bodies up, it’s good to eat all the healthy food. That is why I gravitate towards this spot.”