Subway may be joining the growing wave of nationwide restaurant chains offering gluten-free options, according to QSRweb.com. Starting today, Subway restaurants in Tyler and Dallas, Texas will offer a gluten-free brownie and a gluten-free roll.

The restaurants are doing things halfway, either. Foods containing gluten can cross-contaminate other foods prepared in the same are with the same utensils, so Subway will seal gluten-free items in plastic packaging. Employees will use a disposable, single-use knife to cut each gluten-free sandwich roll, and the same employee will go on to prepare the entire sandwich, instead of passing it on, assembly line style, as usually happens at Subway. Customers with gluten intolerance should watch carefully to confirm that proper precautions are taken, but Subway’s plan seems reasonable to prevent gluten contamination. In fact, the very transparency of the Subway food-making process is a boon to those with special dietary needs; instead of trusting what goes on behind the closed doors of a restaurant kitchen, customers can closely inspect the process and call a halt if they see anything that might endanger their health and well-being.

So here’s the call to action: Tyler and Dallas readers, I’d love it if you would all beat a path to Subway’s door over the next couple of days. I want the response to Subway’s experiment to be overwhelming. The only way we’ll get restaurants offering gluten-free options the right way is if we vote with our wallets, so go have yourself a gluten-free sub overflowing with healthy veggies and some nice, lean meat. I won’t even give you a hard time if you have the brownie, just this once (though you might want to take a gander at the ingredients list before you commit, to make sure it’s not loaded with unpronounceable garbage and fillers).

Kudos to Subway for making the effort, here. I think we all understand that companies make decisions like this based on the bottom line, not necessarily based on philanthropy. And that’s okay– their job is to make money for their shareholders. Sometimes, making money and doing the right thing overlap, and when that happens, it’s important to stand up, applaud, and go get a sandwich.

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