Nutrition
Healthy Eating
Providing you with healthy options is something your dining team proudly does every day. We help you select delicious, nutritious and satisfying meals, snacks and desserts by highlighting well-balanced menu choices and providing nutritional information and tips to help you make choices that fit your needs. We've made a commitment to use easy-to-understand nutritional labeling so you can make informed food choices. And, if you ever have a question about food ingredients, preparation, or cooking information, please don't hesitate to ask for assistance!
Creating a balanced college experience helps develop habits that will continue through post-grad life. Mindful is Sodexo's health and wellness dining initiative to help you make healthy choices by offering manageable wellness tips, campus events, nutrition education and delicious recipes to help students maintain their overall health while they are with us at Lee University.
Mindful offerings served in the Deacon Jones Dining Hall meet stringent criteria based on the United States Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Each meal part is limited in calories, has fewer than 30% of calories as fat, fewer than 10% of calories as saturated fat, and is restricted in sodium and cholesterol. Chefs in our test kitchen develop recipes to meet these criteria in a delicious fashion that helps you make healthy choices second nature.
Look for the purple Mindful icon in the Deacon Jones Dining Hall menu signage!
Simple Servings
Simple Servings is our allergen & gluten dining option for our customers with food allergies, gluten intolerances, Celiac Disease, or those who prefer plain and simple foods. The Simple Servings station offers food made without 8 of the top 9 common allergens: egg, tree nut, milk, peanuts, sesame, shellfish, soy, wheat, and gluten. Finfish, one of the top nine allergens, is offered to provide an additional protein variety.
Simple Servings staff members are carefully trained to avoid cross-contact with food allergens and gluten. Separate equipment, utensils, storage, and prep areas further minimize cross contact with allergens and gluten. 75% of Simple Servings items also meet our Mindful criteria, which makes the station an easy and healthy chouse for customers who are focused on ingredients and portion size to control weight, blood sugar, and other health issues.
Simple Servings is open to anyone and located in the Deacon Jones Dining Hall, running seven days a week during meal periods. Check out our day by day Simple Servings menu here.
Made without Gluten Options
Certified pre-packaged gluten-free menu items that do not contain gluten ingredients are available upon request at select locations. For more information, please contact us here.
Menu Allergens
Our menu system provides ingredient statements specifically highlighting the top nine allergens: milk, eggs, shellfish, fish, tree nuts, peanuts, sesame, wheat, and soy. Guests may check on the presence of allergens prior to planning their meals using the online menu, or, the Everyday App and nutrition calculator. The absence of an allergen listed or posted or electronic product signage is not a guarantee that the product is free of that allergen. The guest is responsible for communicating their allergy to a supervisor or manager to ensure safety.
Lee Dining Services operates a commercial kitchen and does not guarantee any menu item free from an allergen or gluten. While strict procedures are followed, we cannot guarantee that products from vendors and suppliers are free from the risk of cross-contact during manufacturing, not can we completely eliminate the possibility of cross-contact within our facility.
Additionally, according to updated FDA labeling guidelines effective January 2025, coconut is no longer classified as a tree nut. Package labels will reflect this updated labeling requirement over time and list coconut within individual ingredient labels.
We want to meet one-on-one with anyone who has individual dining needs to ensure that your dining experience is safe, delicious, and social. For students with medical conditions that impact their ability to dine well on campus or are interested in nutrition counseling, we strongly encourage a conversation with our Registered Dietitian, or Dining Room Manager. If you have a food allergy/special diet concern, please contact Amanda Ceglarz, campus dietitian, at amanda.ceglarz@sodexo.com and Richmond Flowers, General Manager at Richmond.Flowers@Sodexo.com, (423) 614-8584
Students requesting a meal plan accommodation based on a medical need must register with the Academic Support Office (email: academicsupport@leeuniversity.edu, phone: 423-614-8181). Together, our departments work to serve our students with medical needs related to dining on campus. Please contact the office to start the process.
Lee University Dining Services Restricted Allergen Policy is available for review on request.
Vegetarian
Menu items with the vegetarian icon contain no meat, fish or poultry, or any meat products such as soup base. Our vegetarian offerings meet the needs of lacto-ovo vegetarians and may include eggs and/or dairy products.
Vegan
Vegan offerings contain no meat, fish, eggs, milk or other animal-derived products such as honey.
Plant-Based
Items only use ingredients from plants. This includes fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, peanuts, and tree nuts. They may also include honey and sugar.