Emme Perry, left, and Kayla Maniery together raised the University of New England’s national profile as a safe school for students with food allergies. Contributed / University of New England

Emme Perry, a University of New England Biological Sciences major, is just a college sophomore, but she already has helped improve and highlight the food-allergy-caring culture in UNE’s dining halls, one dairy-free brownie at a time.

And to all those who lack food allergies: You’ve really got to try these brownies.

Over the summer, Perry, Class of 2027, collaborated with UNE’s Director of Catering Kayla Maniery to enhance UNE’s national standing as a food allergy-friendly university on the online college search platform offered by Food Allergy Research and Education (FARE), a national nonprofit that educates the public about food allergens and helps advocate for people with food allergies.

One in 10 people in the United States – or more than 26 million people – has a food allergy, according to the nonprofit.

“A lot of times, a school will have a vegan section or a vegetarian section, but that is not allergen-friendly,” Perry said. “The University of New England is a beacon for those with food allergies.”

Now, UNE is listed on the FARE college search engine with 13 of the 14 recommended food-allergy accommodations – most of which were already in place. It is one of only 1,251 colleges or universities on the nonprofit’s food-allergen-friendly list.

In addition, Perry, who served on FARE’s teen-advocacy committee in high school, also helped get UNE listed on the FARE website as one of just four schools with an allergen-friendly student advocacy group. The other three schools – academic giants with enrollment five to 10 times the size of UNE – are North Carolina State University, the University of California-Los Angeles, and Northwestern University.

One of the reasons Perry – who is allergic to five foods – chose UNE was because of the university’s approach to accommodating students with food allergies.

Perry, who hails from Windsor, Connecticut, was diagnosed at age 1 with severe allergies to dairy, eggs, peanuts and tree nuts, and sesame. Later on, she also was diagnosed with an allergy to pumpkin seeds. So, when she started looking at colleges three years ago, she scrutinized the dining halls she toured. She even researched student feedback on college Facebook pages. Schools with unfriendly dining environments were removed from her list.

When she visited UNE, she was blown away by the dining staff’s conscientious, compassionate, and forward-thinking approach to serving students with food allergies.

“When I came to UNE’s Accepted Student Days, I didn’t tell them I would be here,” Perry said. “I walked up to Kayla, and she asked what my allergies were and, immediately, she brought out a hot plate of food for me that had everything that was safe. Sometimes, it’s so nerve wracking to go up and have a conversation with someone you’ve never met before about your food allergies. But you need to put yourself first and advocate for your well-being.”

After she arrived at UNE, Perry wanted to help the dining staff do more to promote their allergen-friendly menu and dining halls. She quickly learned that the Nor’easters dining staff didn’t do enough to promote the work they do serving those with food allergies.

For example, the Danielle N. Ripich Commons kitchen has a separate allergen-free section in the dining hall called “Inspired Eats” that sits apart from the other food venues, serving foods free of the top nine food allergens (gluten, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, eggs, dairy, shellfish, fish, and sesame).

On top of that, the Commons also has a separate kitchen to prepare foods free of the most common allergens, complete with its own refrigerator, dishwasher, sinks, and serving equipment. It was a huge selling point for Perry.

“I toured around 12 different colleges across the nation, and none had a separate kitchen that would ensure that cross-contamination was a very, very minimal risk,” said Perry, who now is the president of the UNE Undergraduate Student Government.

This past summer, Perry started working with Maniery (who works for Parkhurst, the catering company UNE contracts with for dining services) to get UNE’s allergen-friendly accommodations better represented on the FARE college search engine.

“She came to me last year toward the end of the year and said, ‘I’m looking at this nonprofit called FARE, and I think it would be really cool if we had school accreditation,’” Maniery said.

Perry has worked with Maniery to bring to the Commons other milk alternatives and more egg-and-dairy-free dessert options (like those amazing chocolate brownies). Perry even was the inspiration for the Parkhurst staff getting a designated allergen-free fryer that won’t lead to cross contamination with egg or dairy foods.

“We now have a sign that says, ‘If you would like some fries, you can have them, it’s just going to be a couple of minutes – but we’ll get you your (dairy-free and gluten-free) French fries,” Maniery said with a laugh.

And plans are in place to have the Commons staff serve people in the “Inspired Eats” allergen-free section, rather than having students serve themselves – yet another measure that will help to minimize cross contamination and keep students with allergies safe.

“(Emme has) been a great advocate for the students with allergies. She’s kind of giving them a voice,” Maniery said.