OUR STORY

UChoose Dining was started by UW Students who either had their fair share of struggles as a vegan with dining money to spend, or were close to vegetarians who did. With a very limited menu for those with specific dietary restrictions, students often had to go to every dining hall restaurant and ask each chef if their menu option was vegan or could be made vegan. Sometimes, a full week passed without any good vegan options, where only a similar stew was served every day for a week, or most options were vegetarian but had dairy, meaning vegans couldn’t order it. Even if we lived on West Campus, we sometimes would have to walk all the way to Center Table to find something that sounded appetizing and fit our dietary needs.  Meals were simply a hassle - dining account money had to be spent, but having to walk to a dining hall and spend time there looking around only to be disappointed only added stress to an already hectic school life.

To solve the frustration of not knowing what you can eat, and feeling isolated when your friends can easily find food options that suit them, we created UChoose Dining: a platform HFS could use to easily upload their menus and categorize dishes into the dietary standards they fit under. UChoose Dining is a comprehensive guide to inclusive eating at the University of Washington dining halls. Not only will students be able to find dishes that they can eat more easily; they will also be able to comment on dishes they enjoyed or provide feedback to HFS on how they can better accommodate their needs.