Camp food isn’t what you remember! Camp food has changed since you were a camper. Camp directors plan menus with chefs, nutritionists, and dieticians to plan out healthy and kid-friendly meals that campers enjoy. Many camps will also cater to special dietary requirements that campers have such as being lactose intolerant or a vegetarian as well as food allergies and celiac disease. Families shouldn’t assume that just because your child has food sensitivities that they can’t go to day or sleepaway camp.
Day and resident camps have revamped camp menus to incorporate healthier foods, and plenty of food options. For breakfast, many camps offer choices like cereals, fruit and yogurt. During lunch and dinner, camps may offer pasta bars and salad bars with a variety of fresh vegetable, cottage cheese, tuna, eggs, tofu and many other nutritious options. A lot of camps also have fresh fruit available in the dining hall throughout the day.
Summer camps also accommodate campers’ special dietary needs including vegetarian and vegans. The majority of summer camps offer a vegetarian option for each meal, as well has offering an elaborate salad bar at lunch and dinner which includes a variety of vegetables in addition to tofu, hummus, and beans.
With an increase in food allergies among children over the years, many traditional day and sleepaway camps are accommodating children with a variety of food related allergies, including peanut and tree nut allergies. Many camps have become nut free and for camps that aren’t, they have become nut aware, training staff on how to handle children with allergies, how to read food labels and packages and how to administer EpiPens. Food service directors are making sure food items ordered for camp do not contain peanut or tree nut ingredients. Parents of day campers can pack nut free lunches if the camp isn’t peanut and tree nut free and camps will make sure there is no cross contamination with the other campers’ food.
There are also camps that can accommodate children with Celiac Disease. If a camp has children with Celiac Disease, they will make changes to the types of food they order to make sure they are gluten-free and the kitchen director and staff monitors menus of children with celiac to ensure that appropriate foods served to these campers do not contain any gluten. Camps are also diligent about making sure there is no unintentional cross contamination with foods that contain gluten. Many camps, besides serving gluten free meals for these campers, will allow parents to send their own gluten free meals to camp for their children.
If your child has food allergies or sensitivities, be sure to talk to the camp director about your child’s needs to ensure they are able to accommodate your child’s needs. No matter what your child’s dietary requirements are, you can be assured that there is a summer camp that will cater to your child’s dietary requirements.
Looking for a summer camp? Parents can use the American Camp Association's Find a Camp on www.CampParents.org to find the right camp for their child.
