Do you take issue with the food served at camp?

[blondy2061h, MSN, RN]

I'm finding the food served at camp is often incredibly high carb- simple carbs, too. The meals are almost totally void of protein. Small pieces of meat in soups, bacon, and such being the protein at some meals. Further, the time frame between dinner and breakfast is ridiculous in my opinion. Dinner is at 5:30 and breakfast not til 9am next morning. No snack is served in between, and campers are not allowed to bring their own. I've had a few near syncopes because of this issue.

Anyone else seeing these sort of issues?

[smiley321]

Yes, plenty of high carb meals with little protein. However, we also have a snack an hour or so before bed, around 830-930 pm. The kitchen also has water and snacks available during the day (fruit, pretzels, cheese and crackers, etc.) for those that are hungry between meals. Counsellors have access to the dining hall and can bring their campers there if need be.

Can you speak to the director and/or head cook to see if food can be left out for campers? I do not think this is unreasonable at all, especially since your camp does not offer a bedtime snack. It is also a good way to get those fruits and veggies into the diet!

[redraccoon, BSN, RN]

What kind of camp is this? Just curious.

When I worked at a Boy Scout camp (volunteer) I found the meals to be pretty well balanced. And they offered subsitutes for people with allergies. There was also PB&J as standard back up if needed.

There was always a "fruit basket" available in the cafeteria.

And the kids could buy snacks at trading post most of the day.

[LovebugLPN]

I worked at a camp last summer and the problem I saw was that the counselors were too young. They would use food as a punishment and if a camper did not behave they would withhold canteen (when they bought snacks) or snack time before bed (when or if the camp even offered it). I found out and brought it to the head person. It was addressed but only fixed for a short time. I also saw this with counselors from other countries.

[NurseLaurieRN]

I actually dealt with this today at camp. In the future I am going to compare the weekly menu with the weekly activity schedule. Today we had three groups of kids going on a six hour hike. Breakfast was sugar cereal, yogurt, and banana bread. When I sat down with my own kids and thought about what they were eating and where they were going, I thought how hungry they would be in 2 hours. I went to the camp director and requested that they bring extra snacks with their lunches for the kids. They came back tired and starving but made it to the top!

[TheSquire, DNP, APRN, NP]

What kind of camp is this? Just curious.

When I worked at a Boy Scout camp (volunteer) I found the meals to be pretty well balanced. And they offered subsitutes for people with allergies. There was also PB&J as standard back up if needed.

There was always a "fruit basket" available in the cafeteria.

And the kids could buy snacks at trading post most of the day.

I'm currently at a BSA summer camp and this is more or less my experience as well (though food isn't left out between meals, since our section camps don't utilize cafeteria-style dining). The food is high-calorie with lots of carbs, since the scouts are mostly city kids with higher activity levels at camp than they're used to, but there's lots of protein in the menu as well.

[blondy2061h, MSN, RN]

It was just a regular summer camp, no particular specialty. In the past I remember them leaving a fruit bowl in the dining hall campers could stop and grab something at between meals, but not in recent years.