ABOUT

Enlightened Eats came about when I was struggling to find food that I could eat from my dining hall since I have a gluten allergy. My freshman and sophomore years consisted mainly of eating sandwiches every day because their gluten free bread was the only gluten free substitute that I knew about. Even so, I only knew about the gluten free bread because a very nice cafeteria employee showed me where I could find it. Upon further research, I found that I wasn't the only one struggling. I actually had it a little easier by having a more commonly known allergy and if sandwiches every day for two years was having it easier, I can't imagine what some of my fellow classmates were dealing with. I knew something needed to be done to help my peers with dietary restrictions, so I sent out a survey to get a better understanding of how I could help. Once I peeled that layer of the onion, I had no idea how many more I was about to discover. The dining hall options weren't just a problem for people with allergies; student athletes, people who avoid ingredients for religious or ethical reasons, students who have previously struggled with disordered eating, and the average students who just want to eat healthier all had concerns regarding their schools current dining options. From there, the idea to help spiraled into the app that is now Enlightened Eats.

Survey Takeaways

The survey we conducted contained 68 questions varying from how students feel toward their on-campus dining to why they stopped using their dining plan (if they had), to their level of trust between themselves and the school food. The respondents were college students from various different colleges in the US.

Some key takeaways from this survey include, of 159 college students that responded, 150 of those students said they were interested or very interested in a better way to see all the options and ingredients in their campus offered food from their phone.

Of the 62 students surveyed that also have dietary restrictions, 58 of those students said they were interested or very interested in a better way to see what food options are available to them personally despite their restrictions.

​32 people out of the 58 people that provided a reason as to why they no longer use the on-campus dining had a negative reason. 11 of those people mentioned how it was too expensive and 21 people said they stopped because of a food quality/variety issue.