The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse has numerous dining options available on campus, but for students who need food accommodations, the A9 Eatery has been game-changing.
Prior to the 2024-25 school year, allergen free food was pre-prepared and available for students to take to go. Because of this, a lot of students with food accommodations were unable to receive a fresh, hot meal.
“The quality wasn’t great. It was food that was prepped ahead of time in a hot box and could be taken to go, and it was safe, but maybe not the best quality,” said Associate Director for Business and Dining Operations Lizzy Haywood.
“We saw the need developing, so last year UWL and Chartwells decided to partner and put in the money to renovate the space enough to have a dedicated kitchen to serve those needs,” said Haywood.
The space in Whitney Center, which used to house Char’s, was renovated over the summer and opened on August 28, 2024 as the A9 Eatery.
The “9” in A9 stands for the nine major allergens, and the A9 Eatery serves food without any of these allergens in a kitchen safe from cross contamination. The A9 Eatery is also gluten free and does its best to cater to students who have allergies or intolerances outside of these major allergens.
Around 65 students have registered for food accommodations through the ACCESS Center and have swipe access to the A9 Eatery.
In order to gain access, each student must have certification from a provider, and then after registering with the ACCESS Center, they meet with the campus dietician so that UWL and Chartwells are aware of all of their allergies and intolerances. The students then receive a list of where they can safely eat on campus.
The A9 Eatery has made dining accessible for students who need food accommodations.
“It’s been super easy. There’s always a lot of anxiety around my allergies, and I wasn’t sure how accessible food was going to be for me here, but it’s been a super easy process,” said Taelyn Bauer, a first-year student.
“[The A9 Eatery] is where I put most of my trust. I get worried with gluten intolerances and cross contamination and everything, so this is where I get most of my food,” said Bauer.
For one student, the process has not been as easy. First-year Student Felicity Richmond has allergies outside of the nine major allergens and still has to pay attention to the posted ingredients for each dish.
“[The A9 Eatery] still serves my allergies, so I’m like okay, I can’t really eat today. Then I have to go buy my own food,” Richmond said. “For example, I’m allergic to olives…and they’ve been serving food with olive oil in it.”
However, according to Haywood, the A9 Eatery staff has made accommodations for students with allergies outside of the nine major allergens and gluten.
“There is at least one person who has an allergy outside of those ten, and the team is making a meal for that person on a regular basis…whatever we can do to accommodate we will,” said Haywood.
Richmond also spoke about her struggle with the A9 Eatery’s limited hours. During the week, they are open from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and 4 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Richmond has a lab from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m., and if her lab runs for the whole class period, she can’t stop in for lunch. She also has conflicts with the dinner hours.
“I don’t like their hours… I have Wind Ensemble from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., and then I have [Supplemental Instruction (SI)] from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., so I can’t eat if I go to both of them,” Richmond said.
For times outside of the A9 Eatery’s open hours, allergen safe breakfast and snack foods are available in a cooler in Whitney Center, similar to how allergen free food was distributed in previous years, but it is not the same as receiving a fresh, hot meal from the A9 kitchen.
The quality of the food has been complimented by all of the students with which the Racquet Press spoke, and Richmond compared it to the standard food at Whitney Center saying, “Their food is a lot better quality than the actual Whitney food, so that’s good.”
According to Haywood, the A9 Eatery’s high-quality food comes from the fact that they’re cooking for such a small group of people in a separate kitchen along with the creativity of their recipes and seasoning.
“The way that we do the flavors in A9 is different,” said Haywood. “Many seasonings that are used elsewhere might have some sort of allergen in them, and so the chefs here have to get a little creative about how to make something more flavorful.”
They also have to get creative with their ingredients in order to safely cook and serve foods that normally contain common allergens.
“Pancakes are one of my favorite items to do because it’s something out of the ordinary, especially for our gluten sensitive students. They maybe haven’t even had the opportunity to ever have a pancake, or they haven’t had them in years, so it’s nice to be able to bring that to the students,” said Sous-chef Braden Theisen.
The A9 Eatery pancakes are made with oats instead of flour, which contains gluten.
Richmond said, “I wouldn’t have even thought of some of the [meals], and I’m keeping track of it for next year when I’ll have to make food.”
The A9 Eatery has completely changed the way that students with food accommodations eat on campus, and while the experience has not been perfect for everyone, UWL wants to keep improving the dining experience on campus.
“Anything we can do to make that experience feel more like home feels good. That really is the impact that we want to have,” Haywood said. “I truly love getting feedback from students who are using our dining program of any kind…people should always be willing to share their experience. I’ll listen.”
If anyone has concerns or feedback about campus dining, Haywood’s email is [email protected].
