Gluten-Free Initiatives on campus from NAIT's Food Services!


A while back I received an email from an employee at NAIT with an internal email that went out to students and staff about a new gluten free initiative. This is not about their culinary school, but actually their food services department that prepares all the food for students, faculty, staff and visitors.  I contacted their food services to learn more.  Leslie Howe was excited to provide a blog post about their gluten free initiative and what NAIT is now offering at their Edmonton campus.

This school year, NAIT Food Services is proud to introduce a new initiative to provide a variety of delicious gluten-free options to those dining on campus who have celiac disease!

NAIT Food Services is committed to providing a variety of delicious and healthy gluten free options this school year. Food Services staff have been trained in gluten free preparation procedures, and use a thorough approach to avoid cross-contamination with possible gluten sources, including using separate deep friers, cooktops, grills and cutting boards, using separate and clearly labelled storage, and having all gluten-free advertised products prepared first thing in the morning after all areas have been properly cleaned and sanitized.

There are a number of new gluten free grab and go salads: the South Western salad (with chicken, black bean, corn, tomatoes and cilantro), the Quinoa Salad with a nutty lime dressing, the Chef’s Salad, and two varieties of hummus with fresh veggies! Many other healthy gluten-free options are also available at most food services outlets year round, including fresh fruit, milk, yogurt, and cheese. Additionally, NAIT Catering is happy to accommodate gluten free meal salads and entrees on request. Lastly, The Blue Plate in the Common Market will be hosting Gluten Free Burger & Fries day on the last Friday of each month, starting September 30th! Food Services will be adding gluten free meal selections over the next few months, watch for advertisements.

This post was submitted by:
Leslie Howe
NAIT
Team Lead - Food Services
Department of Corporate Services
lhowe@nait.ca

The Dining Room at NAIT on Urbanspoon
Gluten Free Edmonton - A Celiac guide and resource for gluten free information in Edmonton, Alberta

Comments

  1. Unfortunately this must not have lasted long at least at the main campus. I am a current NAIT student and the only real food (besides chips/candy)available gluten free is a quinoa salad. But the dressing contains dairy so there are no options for DF and GF. It really amazes me that a school with such a great culinary program has ONE gluten free option. I thought at least I would be able to get some fries but I was told by employees at Common Market that the fryers are not separate. They do have packages of yogurt and cheese but again, nothing gluten free.

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  2. Sorry that should say the yogurt and cheese provide nothing DF rather than GF.

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  3. It's good that food services are starting to recognize the need for customizing their menu for people with Celiac disease. This is not just good for people with this illness, but it will be good for their marketing, too. Back home, this would be a great addition to a web page design perth.

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  4. There's some great news. It's about time schools started really promoting healthy choices. Next thing we know, they'll be advocating regular workouts, vegan food, and the best creatine supplements as well.

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  5. I think most of the long island caterers also think this way. Of course, above all they must prioritize what will be the health benefits of the food they are cooking and the taste will be the next in line, especially now that the public grows more and more aware about their health.

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  6. With Celiac disease, it is difficult for one to get the necessary calcium one needs. As such, it is important that these people get to see their food doctor every once in a while.

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