In response to a growing demand for vegan dishes by UW students, on-campus cafeterias like Lander's 1101 Café have started to serve vegan alternatives to the traditional dorm food.

For junior Autumn Cutter, being a vegan and a college student is difficult to juggle.

"There definitely have been some days when I look around and think that it would be so much easier if I wasn't vegan," she said. "Even if I was just a vegetarian it would be easier."

The slim array of vegan dining options in campus cafeterias is the hardest part for Cutter.

"If you're going to be eating on campus two times a day, you're going to run out of the different options really quickly," she said. "There [are] only so many times you can eat those tofu packets. The other day, I realized I had eaten on campus all day but I hadn't eaten any vegetables, and that shouldn't be possible as a vegan."

When Cutter eats in the cafeterias on campus, she is especially careful to check the ingredients in the dishes.

"It's tricky sometimes," she said. "Especially if you're eating at lunch time rush hour. A lot of [servers] aren't wanting to go back and find an ingredients list."

Cutter has also devised tricks to finding vegan alternatives at the campus cafeterias.

"Sometimes they don't have the ingredients, but they do have the nutritional facts," she said. "No vegan food has cholesterol, so I'll just check that."

The menu changes are in response to comment cards available in dining halls.

Kathy Hanken, executive chef at 1101, first addressed the demand for vegan dishes last year.

"We had a large meeting and about 40 students came," she said. "They showed a growing interest to have more available for vegans. We committed to that last year and started implementing it this year."

The new dining options at 1101 reflect the growing trend of veganism.

"Veganism seems to be a small group, but a very vocal group," Hanken said. "We're really working to support our diners. Last year we made an effort to satisfy vegetarians. And this year we've tried to expand that to vegans."

One of the new features at 1101 is at least one vegan dish available during each meal period. There are also a host of other options available at 1101 for vegans.

"There are lots of sides," Hanken said. "We always do our beans and rice without stock, so those things can be put together."

As the school year goes on, the chefs at 1101 have gotten more and more creative with their vegan dining creations.

Residential dining chef Clifton Lyles, is in direct contact with students.

Lyles said they produce food based on the forecasted demand.

As veganism continues to grow in popularity and the comment cards are utilized, so will the vegan options.

"It's all about the audience who will eat [the vegan options]," Lyles said. "Trying to make a lot of variety for the students and staff was the biggest challenge."

Cutter's response to the growing amount of vegan dishes on campus is glowing.

"I really like the new options," Cutter said. "They had a really good chickpea masala Indian dish with flatbread and rice. ... As I was eating, I was filling out a comment card thanking [the chefs] for adding it to the menu."

Hanken said that the future is bright for vegan diners at the UW.

"[Vegan food] will continue to be a solid part of what we do," Hanken said. "What I need the most is to have feedback about specific things that students are looking for. If you say what you want, I will do my best to get it for you."

[Reach contributing writer Kyle Frischkorn at news@thedaily.washington.edu.]