College & University with Food Allergies

Time flies and I cannot believe that it has been more than three years since my last post.  Our two boys have been in high school during this time.  We also packed up in 2018 and moved to a new state in 2019.  Although the boys were skeptical, they love their new friends and still have their old friends too! So we have been extremely busy, as all of you are, I am sure.  

The good news:  Our eldest son has entered univeristy this fall as a bio-chemistry major.  I keep suggesting to him that he find a cure for food allergies!  He is living on campus and eating successfully at the dining halls.  I learned this past summer that a lot has changed since I went to college.  Now they are extremely allergy aware and have separate eating stations with ingredients, allergen-free foods, and also designated dining tables for those who wish to sit there.  My son has the 'all you can eat' meal plan and has reported that the food is good and the variety is sufficient, most of the time, depending upon which dining hall he visits.  He has also taken full advantage of the all you can eat plan, laughing that he had 5 plates of food the other night.  So we are thrilled!

A word of caution:  Our yougest son was confirmed not to have any good allergies soon after kindergarten.  Now he is seventeen and he does have reactions to dairy and egg.  I think I know the reason...he never ate those foods growing up so is now sensitive.  So a word to the wise, hind sight being 20/20, we should have made sure he ate some dairy and egg on a regular basis.  

Our oldest son is now more inspired to desensitize himself by eating baked dairy and egg goods, 3rd ingredient or lower.  This was a battle for us when he was younger.  While I used to make him cupcakes per the doctor's directions, he would throw them into the woods.  What can a mother do?  

I hope you are all doing well and would love to hear your feedback and thoughts!