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What’s in a Summer Camp Meal?

Thursday, February 9th, 2012

Continuing with our series about camp nutrition, in this blog we will address one of the most common inquiries made by parents who are considering sending their children to summer camp: What will they eat? While the food itself may vary from camp to camp, the strategy behind menu planning is inevitably the same—to provide nutritious meals that also replenish depleted energy levels. One recent critique of summer camp menus is the tendency for them to be heavy on carbohydrates. Admittedly, camp menus are typically carb-loaded. This is not carelessness on behalf of camp menu planners. It’s intentional. Remember that children are much more active at sleepaway camp than they are at home. Most parents have heard their child’s sports coach advise players to eat pasta to boost energy before a big game. The average day at summer camp, however, may involve three or four sports lessons or games, including at least one to two hours of swimming, followed by an evening of fun activities. It’s important that children eat foods that help them maintain stamina and endurance.

Most camp breakfasts include a hot choice such as breakfast sandwiches, eggs, pancakes, and/or oatmeal. Additionally, there is often a cereal bar daily as well as a fruit, bagel, and yogurt bar. Of course, just like at home, there is the occasional donut treat on special days. Lunch is usually served three to four hours after breakfast and is often the same go-to meals that many children enjoy at home, such as sandwiches, soup, mac and cheese, or pizza. Although items like chips are often offered when sandwiches are served, Camp Starlight now serves only baked chips. Most camps also offer a pretty extensive salad bar at lunch as well. During the afternoon, Camp Starlight has a fruit break during which fruit is distributed. Evening meals follow the conclusion of the regular daily program activities and a break that allows campers and staff to return to their bunks and prepare for evening activities (usually about four hours after lunch). They typically include a protein and a couple of vegetable sides. Most camps also offer the same or slightly larger version of the same salad bar featured at lunch and some camps also offer a vegetarian alternative to meals that feature meat as well some sort of alternative, like a pasta bar, for those staff and campers who tend to be very particular about their food choices. Summer camp dinners also feature a dessert of some type. On some days, it may be jello, fruit, or popsicles. On others, it may be brownies, cookies, or ice cream sundaes. Juice and water are typically available at all meals. Soda is rarely or never offered outside of special areas such as canteens, which are designated places at camp where children can go a few times a week and enjoy a treat, such as a candy bar, a soda, or, if they prefer, a healthier alternative such as a big pretzel. Some Camps also distribute a light snack before bedtime while some make one available throughout the day for those campers whose energy levels run low between meals.

Weekly cookouts are as big of a tradition at Camp Starlight as campfires and sing alongs. Cookouts usually consist of standard backyard barbeque fare—hot dogs, hamburgers, watermelon, and a potato offering of some sort (or baked chips). Just like at home, food for cookout is prepared on a grill. The hot dogs and hamburgers are not fried in oil.

One aspect of eating as summer camp that is missing from most campers’ home lives is the opportunity for constant grazing. At summer camp, with the exception of designated fruit and snack breaks, children eat at mealtimes. The dangerous combination of boredom mixed with a kitchen in close proximity is removed. Camp Starlight does not specifically limit portions or helpings but we do discourage campers from unnecessarily wasting food by attempting to eat more than their stomachs can comfortably handle.

Most parents, as one may conclude after reading about what’s in a camp meal, are pleasantly surprised by camp meal offerings. Some even find that their children’s eating habits actually improve because of summer camp. The point to remember, however, is that regardless of which foods are served, almost all summer camps carefully plan menus in consideration of activity levels, appeal, schedule, and nutrition. Decisions concerning summer camp meals are never random but always with healthy habits in mind.

Tags: America's finest summer camps, American summer camps, camp diet, Camp Starlight, children's eating habits, food at summer camp, health and wellness at summer camp, healthy eating habits for children, Nutrition at summer camp, sleepaway camp, summer camp, summer camp food, summer camp meals, summer camp nutrition
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Camp is a Summer Home for Nutrition Too!

Wednesday, January 25th, 2012

Much has recently been made about the meals that our children consume in places such as school cafeterias and summer camps. A general sentiment that these types of establishments place cost and convenience over nutrition and well being seems to be developing. In the world of summer camp, this couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact, so dedicated are some summer camps to providing meals and snacks that combat bad eating habits that we’ve decided to dedicate an entire series of blogs to summer camp menus. In this first blog, we’ll introduce you to the basic concept of camp nutrition and menu compilation. In future blogs, we’ll discuss special diet, snacks, and the strategy behind the compilation of camp menus.

Most reputable camps offer a deliberate, carefully planned menu to campers and staff alike. Many camps employ the assistance of nutritionists when planning menus and select food based on the heightened physical activity of campers during the summer. All of America’s Finest Summer Camps, for instance, offer extensive yogurt and fruit bars at breakfast as well as salad bars at lunch and dinner. At breakfast, several different kinds of yogurt are available as well as fruit such as oranges and bananas. Hard boiled eggs, bagels, and cheese are also typically available. For those with lactose intolerance, lactose free as well as soy milk are often on hand. At lunch and dinner, salad bars offer everything from basic staples like tomatoes, mushrooms, peppers, olives, cucumbers, and carrots to more progressive offerings like garbanzo beans, tuna, and marinated vegetable combinations, along with several dressings from which to complete the dish. Almost all camps offer vegetarian selections at mealtimes.

Increasingly, special diets are being taken into consideration as well. With many camp leaders and directors themselves learning to live with gluten allergies and diabetes, camp leaders have looked inward when planning menus and are becoming increasingly sensitive to special diet needs. More and more, menu options are being added with these considerations in mind.

Planning camp menus is a special challenge for camp directors. With so many campers and staff dining at each meal, it’s impossible to please everyone all the time. However, there are other considerations when planning menus. Children are very active at camp—often considerably more active than they are at home. Physical activity begins in the morning and often continues into the evening. Many camp menus have been criticized for being heavy in carbohydrates. However, there is a nutritional basis in this. Diets heavy in carbohydrates are recommended for children who engage in heavy physical activity, as carbohydrates convert to sugar very quickly and help replenish energy. While it’s true that many camp foods are high in carbohydrates, it’s also important to consider that such a diet at camp is also responsibly balanced by ample servings of fruits, vegetables, and proteins.

Food allergies are also a prevalent consideration when planning camp menus. Nut allergies are the most common, although there are many others. Since food allergies tend to reveal themselves through various levels of sensitivity, it’s not only important to consider what campers and staff might consume when planning menus, but with whom and what they might come into contact during the course of a summer camp meal.

The preparation of food, particularly food that is fried, is another key target of critics. The fact is that even though many camps offer such traditionally “fried” fare as hamburgers, french fries, and cheese sticks, many of these foods, when prepared at camp, are not fried. Hamburgers are often grilled while fries and cheese sticks are typically baked to minimize the use of fatty oils.

In case you have ever suspected that your child’s nutrition takes a back seat to fun at summer camp, we hope this brief introduction has helped put your mind at ease. And if you’re still not convinced, we invite you to continue visiting this blog as we continue our series about camp menus.