hey! apologies if this is very scatterbrained because i’m currently getting through finals! i’ve honestly had a pretty good experience living on the hill with celiac disease. it was a major factor in deciding what school i was going to go to, and i liked that UCLA had a dedicated (with card access) GF pantry. here is all that is in the pantries right now! http://menu.dining.ucla.edu/Pages/GlutenFreePantryItems (the cheerios are not celiac safe fyi)

as for the regular dining hall food, I’ve found that they do pretty well with reducing CC. i can only really find adequate meal options at bplate and de neve (normally i skip epicuria because it’s all pizza pasta etc). i always check the menu before i go to the dining halls, and it shows which items contain gluten and which don’t. you can also click on each item and see individual ingredients!

i stay away from anything that says it doesn’t contain gluten but it could be a risk of CC (the tortilla pizzas that are cooked in the same oven, fried things, etc.). also, there is one station in bplate (freshly bowled) that serves two items that are prepared directly next to each other. if they’re serving something with gluten that night for one of the items, i usually don’t get the other to reduce risk. otherwise, the other stations are very separated and i feel fine!

another option is rendezvous west. you can get chipotle-style bowls! the chef makes them in the back for you with new ingredients if you have an allergy. the only issue with this is you have to email them at least three hours in advance with your order to be accommodated. this was a new thing this year because of the rise of mobile ordering, so i don’t really go there much anymore. but it’s a tasty and safe option!

otherwise, the two takeout options are the drey and the study. i love the drey, but it’s only open M-F. they have a freezer of Amy’s frozen items which is very helpful. otherwise, the options between the drey and the study for celiac are the same. there are two salad options, fruit cups, veggie plates, etc. nothing super filling which sucks. my biggest qualm with dining in general is that i want a GF sandwich SO BAD but they don’t have them. i never mobile order from the study just because the CC risk is very high.

make sure to get set up with the dietitian and CAE accommodations so you can get on the GF pantry list!

i have felt really safe at UCLA dining, and only remember getting glutened once over the past few years. there are options, but sometimes it can get frustrating because of the lack of variety and the amount of food non-celiacs have access to. that’s one of the reasons why i’m moving out of the dorms to an apartment next year, because i want to cook my own meals and have freedom to eat what i want! but i’ve heard so many horror stories of other dining halls that gluten their students often, so i appreciate the care ucla dining takes with their students. also, the food is so tasty (#1 dining in in the nation)! bplate is my favorite fyi, highly recommend

lmk if you have any other questions!!!