MSU Dining offers allergy accommodations that include allergen-conscious areas with gluten-free products, and nut-conscious dining halls at Holden, Holmes and MSU Bakers.

Thrive at Owen is an all-you-care-to-eat dining hall where all items served are free of the 9 major allergens and gluten.

First-year neuroscience and human biology major Isabella Gunjab, whose allergies limit her to eating rice, chicken and beef, is appreciative of MSU Culinary Services for going out of its way to make accommodations.

“I tend to bring my own food, but when I do eat at Owen I usually feel pretty safe,” said Gunjab.

Gunjab said she met with Patterson in Akers Hall to create a dining plan through the Eat at State mobile app that was released in June 2022.

“They're really safe with it. They wear gloves and everything, so that was an option I used a lot in the first semester until I got off the plan to move to Owen,” said Gunjab.

Supply chain management sophomore Matthew Trask, who is allergic to peanuts, tree nuts and shellfish, said he finds the allergen labels in dining halls to be very helpful for identifying foods with nuts that he wouldn’t have expected. 

“I go to really any dining hall. I guess Owen’s where I can kind of shut my brain off and not really worry as much because, obviously, my allergies aren’t a factor here,” Trask said.

Mechanical engineer freshman Kayla Archry, who is allergic to peanuts, tree nuts, milk and eggs, agreed that she can eat at pretty much all the dining halls and enjoys going to Owen Hall when it is open.

Owen Hall's hours are Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. (lunch), and 4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. (dinner). They are closed on the weekends, but meals are offered out of the Vista at Shaw.

“It’s pretty inconvenient that it closes at 7:00, because I know a lot of people have extracurriculars and things going on, or just late classes,” said Archy. “Like, Owen is a very accessible hall if it was open more often.”

Tomokai Timmer and Langston King, who both don’t have any allergies or dietary restrictions, make a point of eating at Owen Hall together every week because they enjoy the food.

However, they both agree that if they were eating here due to an allergy, the hours could be a problem.

“The hours here aren't similar to the larger dining halls. So maybe that would be a limiting factor,” said King.

Thrive at Owen closed for weekend operation in the fall of 2025 due to low student turnout and high cost to keep the dining hall open.

For allergy-safe dining over the weekends, Eat at State offers MSUtrition, a website that allows diners to filter menu options by allergens and dietary preferences.

Gunjab said there are lots of resources available to students with dietary restrictions and allergies, but they are just not well-known or advertised. She noted that she didn’t advocate for herself or look too deeply into MSU’s options until she had an anaphylactic episode. 

“I feel like students need to be aware that there are people who will listen, and there’s people who would make State accessible for allergy options,” said Gunjab.