Finding Gluten-Free Food at Airports

During a recent trip, we made an unplanned detour to JFK airport in order to get back to Atlanta. Because I knew that finding a safe lunch at the first airport we were at that day might be tough, I had my own food in my bag and had plenty to eat for that meal. However, I had no way of knowing I’d also need to find something to eat for dinner later on. To add a little extra stress to an already horrifically stressful travel day, we had very little time to get from the gate we arrived at to the gate our last flight was departing from at JFK. I knew I still had some tiny snacks in my tote bag and assumed they would have to suffice for a makeshift dinner.

As we rushed by The Healthy Gourmet kiosk just before getting to our departure gate (and finding out our flight was delayed due to no pilot), a sign caught my eye. There on the corner was a round display of Food Should Taste Good chips. This line of chips is not only nutritious, but the flavors are also totally unexpected. I have not tried them all yet, but so far I’m partial to the delicious Olive chips. Since we now had some time before boarding, I decided to check out the offerings at The Healthy Gourmet.

The fact that the Food Should Taste Good sign listed gluten-free for every passerby to see delighted me on a trying day. It was a little like seeing a rainbow after the rain. I grabbed a bag of chips and proceeded to check out the rest of the items at the kiosk. To my surprise, there was a very fresh-looking salad (several of them, in fact) that clearly listed every ingredient and allergen info to boot. I chose a salad that included salad greens, turkey, cheese, sliced almonds, dried cranberries, and mandarin oranges.

When I went to pay for my airport dinner, I was offered a packet of dressing, but I was not in the mood to read the label so I declined the offer. Not only was the salad gluten-free, but it was also shockingly delicious for airport food. Our flight ended up leaving even later than first expected so I had time to check out some other things at various kiosks and there was a shocking amount (to me) of gluten-free labeled items. Various types of chips and bars were among the offerings.

At the Atlanta airport, there were also several options such as bars from Oskri and yet more Food Should Taste Good chips. I’d noticed them on the way to our gate over a week before. Even though I was not in need of any safe food at 9 am that day, I appreciated the fact that they were available. And even better, I like knowing that most people buying the items are not in need of gluten-free food. They just want a snack and buy items they either know they like or that look good to them.

To say we’ve come a long way in the past five years is quite an understatement. Gluten-free options are growing every month and more mainstream consumers are embracing them for whatever reason. While it annoys me that trendy gluten-free diners are out there who would not know if they were served gluten by mistake, on the retail side of things, the more gluten-free purchases made the better for all of us.

As an aside, I’d like to thank Delta Airlines. The Atlanta-based company came through for us in a big way and we arrived home safely because of their excellent customer service. Their help was greatly appreciated considering the fact that we were using frequent flyer tickets for the trip and the fact that we missed our departing flight was not related to Delta in any way.