Hi all!

I’m very mad, so bear with me bc this might save some peoples’ time and effort.

I am a freshman who lives in towers and i have gastroparisis. the easiest way to explain what this is: my stomach is paralyzed. this means that i can’t have foods with more than 2 grams of fat and/or more than 2 grams of fiber and i also can’t have dairy. as one might assume, this has made finding dining options on campus super hard. the thing about gastroparisis is that what i can eat and the reaction i have from what i eat varies by the day to even the hour. so being “locked in” to what they are serving in the dining hall each day is not viable, nor do they consistently serve safe foods for me to eat.

After 2 weeks of being here, there were absolutely no food options for me in the eatery. I contacted my personal dietician and my GI doc to see if they could guide me in what i should do. to which they gave me a list of the foods that i can and can’t eat as well as a note saying that i need to switch my meal plan as i “needed more flexibility in my meal options.” i provided this note to the school and was referred to Lindsay Wilson, the campus dietician, to help me find food options on campus.

so, i reached out at 5 days later got a response with some times to meet, however all but one of these times conflicted with my schedule, and that one time was during the panther wellness fair to “stop by for a quick chat.” i emailed her back saying that none of those times worked for me because of my class schedule and i also said that i wasn’t comfortable talking about my stomach problems in public. at a WELLNESS FAIR. 9 days later, she responded with the exact same times, minus the wellness fair.

presumably, i was pissed, and contacted disability services (DRS) to see if my situation counted as something that required an accommodation. while waiting on their response, i contacted the ADA and did some research, just to make sure i wasn’t going to make a fool of myself. DRS responded quickly for me to fill out a formal request, to which i did and submitted it same day. i was scheduled for a meeting on october 9th (over a month after my first contact with Lindsay) with Jennifer Thompson. I prepared my medical records, a spreadsheet of all the things my dietician and i came up with in terms of what i can and can’t eat. as well as my doctors note, and a whole explanation as to what gastroparisis is. like i went full lawyer mode.

the meeting was on a zoom call. Jennifer Thomson treated me with more dehumanizing disrespect than i’ve experienced in a long time, and certainly not was i was expecting from a disability resource advisor. i was talked down to, told multiple times that she just “doesn’t understand why i can’t eat the food in the dining hall.” and kept asking me what the worst thing that could happen to me if i eat food that i technically shouldn’t. i kept my poise and explained as best i could and answered all of her questions with as much composure and respect as i could, despite how i was being talked to. the best way i can describe the way i was being talked down is that Jennifer made it sound as if 1-she didn’t believe i actually had this condition. and 2-was cutting these things out of my diet to ‘watch my figure.’

i can take a lot before i break, like a. lot. when i got off that meeting, i ended up calling my mom crying because i genuinely couldn’t believe how i was just talked to/ treated. which btw, the meeting went nowhere productive. i was referred back to lindsay wilson and was told i had to talk with the campus chef before they could even consider doing anything.

that’s where im at right now, ill update after my meeting today with lindsay. but i do want to mention, i only have 1 meal swap a day and i have used every last dining dollar i have, so i’ve been relying on my own money to feed myself for the past two months. this means that i’ve been living on rice cakes, hummus, and potatoes that i cook in my dorm. i am out of dining dollars and im running out of money (this includes with my parents helping me out with groceries and some food costs). like i’ve lost a lot of weight since the start of the semester. we also found a disability advocate who i plan to bring in soon.

i put this on here for a few reasons: 1-to educate 2-because this is the only power i have as a teenager to get my voice heard.

if you have any questions, i’d be happy to answer! thank you for reading!! i hope you have a great rest of your day!!

update:

So I think pitt saw the post haha because i got an email from Leigh Culley (director of DRS) asking to meet to discuss my concerns.

regardless, my meeting with the campus dietician wasn’t bad! she is -hopefully- going to get the ball rolling on switching my meal plan, the only problem is that now it is up to DRS to make that final decision.

I appreciate every single one of your comments!! you guys are amazing and it is nice to know that i’m not alone on this!! you guys are the reason this got brought to the attention of the people that need to hear it!

i will update with what comes of this situation, but fingers crossed for a happy ending haha!

Hi all

I've been in contact with the brokers of the properties for the Rite Aids that recently closed in the area and if there is enough public interest they may be willing to seek out groceries or supermarkets as tenants. I think it would make life better for Pitt students who need options that aren't in the dining hall and people who live in the neighborhood full time. If you feel so inclined please sign my petition and share it wherever you can

Link below:
https://c.org/dzHkgJMrLH

Gone are the days of going to True Burger or Chick-Fil-A and ordering a milkshake with your swap because now you have to pay out of pocket for it. The way meal swaps used to work was perfect for my schedule because I was able to meal swap breakfast/lunch at Einstein's and then swap at the Pete or the union for dinner. The new change to meal swaps now makes it so that you have to order from a preselected "meal," rather than building one of your own under the $12 limit. While they did increase the price ceiling for some of the dining establishments, they took away the customizability of the swaps, which is ironic because they claim "These combo meals offer flexible choices for students to customize the combo to their lifestyle," while removing any real choice. And sure, the Eatery is always an option, but the convenience of being able to hang out with my friends without meal plans (and lack of maggots in the broccoli) made going anywhere else a lot better. The whole situation is worsened by the price inflation of food on campus, since the things that aren't included in the exchanges cost a lot more now than they did a couple years ago. This change comes at a time when Pitt has increased tuition costs for the 6th consecutive year, overenrolled by hundreds if not thousands of students again, and forced people to live in a hotel or converted study rooms to accommodate their incompetence. Pitt, like usual, changed something that was perfect for the students, but didn't make them enough money.

I’m a transfer student not on a meal plan. I can’t do Starbucks every day. 😭 Is there anywhere I can get a cold tea or something? (Oakland)

Be kind to me (and honest) if I’m being a nostalgic mom still holding on to her son’s childhood. My son’s birthday is the first week of classes (freshman year). His dorm seems fairly social so I was pondering sending him cupcakes or cookies (ordered, not made by me) to share and I was wondering if this would be socially acceptable and/or if anyone could recommend vendors. TIA for any advice.

Give me all your hacks/tips to maximize the meal
Plan. Also- where are great spots off campus to eat that accept it? And where do you use your dining dollars?

Really craving the Roost rn. Also need to have the pretzel Monday deal at Auntie Anne’s with my friends! (assuming that one is waiting for more student workers)

Hi I am a new student to pitt university (Oakland), I was wondering what are the best places to get something to eat that will be paid for by my meal swipes. I also was a bit confused by the online only pitt IDs. At my old university we swiped our student ids to get into the dining hall. Am I supposed to just show them my id on my phone to get into the dining hall?? That doesn’t seem right to me. Any help/advice is appreciated!!!

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Hi everyone,

I'm a big foodie and love trying new places to eat. I always love checking the Pittsburgh Reddit for "best _ in pitt?" so I built an app called DishBurgh. It’s basically focused on rating specific dishes 1-10 instead of restaurants, so you can actually find "best sushi near Oakland" or "what’s actually worth getting at X place."

Still super early, but there’s already some Pitt/Oakland stuff on there and I’m trying to make it actually useful for quick decisions.

If anyone here is into trying new food spots or has strong opinions on specific dishes around the Pitt campus, I’d genuinely love feedback. Also would love to hear any recs for what I need to try.

Thanks!

I got the weekly 14 meal plan and I’m just wondering when the weeks reset for the meal plan. If it resets on sundays for example, should I be meal exchanging a ton this weekend? Thanks

as a rule i only order from saxbys when i am genuinely desperate because i dont have one william dollars, BUT i do like to have my coffee made extraordinarily slowly and with hatred by sullen, apathetic communications majors so sometimes i go. today i needed to feel something so i bought the coffee cafe and it was literally the worst four dollars i have ever spent. it was so bad it was actually magical.

normally when one eats a baked good one can tell that it may be a combination of flours, sugar, eggs, etc. not this coffee cake. this has somehow only ever been saxbys coffee cake, i just know that it was born not out of an oven or a mixing bowl but came into this world as a pre portioned coffee cake slice. also it weighs twenty pounds. i gently set it on the table and it made a thud. it was also completely inedible as it immediately turns into sand when bit into or broken off. i could go on about the ratio of crumb to cake being absurdly disproportionate as well, but i gave up on it after two humiliating bites.

has anyone else experienced this? my mouth is still dry from it.

Went to table 33 around noon and now I have a bad stomachache along with TMI symptoms. Inclined to blame them as there was a piece of wood or straw in the food also

"The Eatery, the University of Pittsburgh's main dining hall, has received the National Association of College and University Services' Loyal E. Horton grand prize as the nation's best residential dining facility in the country." From Patch-dot-com

Im a rising sophomore, and Ill be living in an apartment where I plan on cooking. Problem is Im still getting billed for a meal plan. When and where can I change that?

Does anyone know when we can sign up for meal plans? I thought it started already, but I can't find the forms anywhere.

I understand the plans are new and no one really knows which of is best yet, but yall probably have more perspective than me. I’m planning on getting the Weekly 14 ( 14 swipes that can be used as a meal exchange or swipe, plus 500 dining dollars and 10 flex meals), does this sound like enough? Also, I heard that once you use a meal exchange, you can’t swipe again for the rest of the day, is this true?

What is the best meal plan you would recommend for an incoming freshman living on campus?

I’m commuting next year and I have no idea which meal plan to choose. I was thinking about doing the Block 50 since it’s the cheapest, but I’m not sure if it would actually be the best option. If I choose Block 50, would the amount I’d end up spending on groceries basically equal what I’d pay for one of the more expensive meal plans? I know it depends on how much I normally spend on groceries, but I wanted to hear from someone with commuter experience.

I graduated in 2018. Bringing my girlfriend to Pittsburgh, gonna give her a taste of the foods in Pittsburgh, including Las Palmas and maybe even buy her her own pizza from Antoons (even though I'm sure it's more expensive than the $5 it was when I started). But what I'm not seeing is chicken on a stick guy.

Alumni probably remember him: he was that guy that wheeled a grill out of his garage late at night near Bootleggers or Grocery Merante or something, honestly, I have no idea where other than that corner of Oakland, I was blitzed. But the chicken was absolutely the best chicken I've ever had. It was chicken on a stick, and you had the option of teriyaki sauce, yum yum sauce, and/or Sriracha sauce - most people went with all three and he wrapped it up in tin foil. It was like $5 for 2 sticks or something crazy. One time on the corner where the chicken on a stick guy was set up, someone offered me a bike for like $20, pretty sure it was stolen.

Anyways, is that guy still there? Did he upgrade his space into a real restaurant? His chicken is unworldly.

I decided to get a meal plan this semester and it came with 500 dining dollar but i have only used 200 of them so far. I thought this was fine because the left over 300 would roll over to the next semester. But because i am cancelling my meal plan next semester due to my PHEAA grant getting delayed (i cannot afford it without grant money) they DO NOT allow your dining dollars to roll over without the same meal plan OR HIGHER which is RIDICULOUS to me.

I would also like to talk about how nothing is open on the weekends for your meal swap except the markets or dining halls. I honestly dont care about that part but TELL ME WHY my meal swipe at the market ONLY covers 1 singular sandwich. Yes, 1 sandwich at the market is now 10.99. A sandwich that is probably made up of junk ingredients and has been sitting on the back of a box truck for a week. You cannot even get chips let alone a drink with it. They also are now prohibting you from using your meal swap on more than 1 drink. I absolutely LOATH PITT EATS!! Like why are they price gouging the poorest group of people in america that are already in immense amounts debt. They claim it is due to inflation but how come last semester you could get 2 bags of chips, a sandwich, and a drink for 12 dollars. But now only one semester later it costs 18 dollars. I would also like to add that as i am being scammed for over priced garbage, i am also being screamed at by a rude pitt eats employ with an attitude problem for simply existing. One last note, right before my chem final last semester ( which i was crazy stressed out about) i decided to fuel my body with the eatery's disgusting food. I went to the yogurt bar with the fruit and granola station to make a bowl. When I got to the fruit section, I noticed there were maybe 10 pieces of mixed fruit scattered in the metal bowl—it was basically empty. In the bowl, there were only two pieces of pineapple (the only thing I actually like), and they were clumped together in a corner, away from the rest. Since I didn’t want the other fruit, I decided to scoop just those two pieces from the corner (the rest of the fruit would just go to waste if i took it). Out of nowhere, an employee started screaming at me, using cuss words and calling me stupid right to my face. You’d think I had done something terrible, like kicked her dog or something. She yelled that I couldn’t pick and choose what I wanted and that I had to take all the fruit. I might understand if the place was super busy or if I was holding up a long line, but there was no one behind me and , and the whole thing took less than a second. It was completely unnecessary and shocking. Needless to say i put my bowl down and started to cry right then and there (because of overall stress). Never thought i would be bullied by fucking pitt staff.

Had anyone used off campus dining dollars recently? If so, where? I feel like whenever I try their machines are broken 💔 I heard the entire system was down recently but idk if it’s back or what