today i was informed that, by contract, the company that provides food to our school is prohibited from giving the full nutritional information for most foods.
full story: i’m a type one diabetic. i’ve been having a lot of issues with my school’s dining since i came here my freshman year (year-wise, i’m a sophomore) because they don’t provide the nutritional content for the majority of foods at our cafeterias. there is a list for certain foods, but it’s already rather difficult to access, as you have to go to the school’s website, then the dining hall site, then pick which dining hall you’re at, then click faq, then scroll all the way down to hit the nutrition table.
and like i said earlier, most stuff isn’t on there. most of it is just pizza and cereal, which i’d rather not eat every single meal.
so i put in a complaint, because my blood sugar has been in the 400′s three times this week already (we can’t serve ourselves anymore, which just makes things more complicated). i asked them to please provide the full nutritional information because, y’know, i’m a diabetic. i’m also pretty sure it’s required under ada, but i’m not certain, especially since i’m at a private school.
anyways, i got a call from the company who supplies the food to my college. i spoke with her for a while, and what i found out was troubling.
she asked me what i ate the day before, and i told her the tempeh curry (pretty good, btw). she said that there’s no nutritional count for that online and i told her i was very much aware. she asked me what i wanted to be done about the situation, and i asked if there’s any way that some of the foods could be added online, such as those served more frequently or have a higher carb count than the average diabetic would be able to calculate.
her response?
“we can’t provide that information. we’re under contract with your school to provide only the basic nutritional information for the foods that are always there, such as burgers, pizza, and cereals. your dean is afraid that, if we provide that information, then it could trigger eating disorders, as there’s a stigma around nutrition and body positivity.”
and i kinda just... gaped at her words.
are you telling me that my health is less important than the feelings of people who would have to go out of their way to see the nutrition menu? i mean, fuck, i technically have an eating disorder too, which actually stems from fear of bolusing wrong which leads me to just not fucking eating.
i’m so fucking mad. is there something i can do about this? i’m not mad at the company, by the way. i’m mad at my school for putting such a stupid fucking policy in place that puts diabetics and other students with medical issues at risk.
just... what can i do?
