Camper Q&A
What’s The Food Like At Camp?
Camp food is great and so is eating it with all your friends!
You’ll eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner family-style with your cabin mates and counselor in the Dining Hall. This means that the food is put on your cabin’s table right before you walk inside, and you and your cabin mates fill your plates from the serving bowls, just like you would at home.
We don’t limit any of the food offered to you and there is always enough food for seconds, or even for thirds if you are very hungry. If you run out of any food during the meal, you can share with other tables, or take the serving bowl up to the front window to refill it.
Don’t worry if you are allergic to any foods. Your parents will notify us on your health form if you have any allergies, and during the meal, you would just come up to the front window to get your substitution. Some dietary restrictions are due to intolerances: we offer gluten-free and lactose-free items, for example.
If your diet is narrow or limited due to preference, it might be harder to find a variety of nutritious items. Please reach out to Alli, our Director of Food Services, so we can make sure the kitchen is able to accommodate it.
What if I don’t like what’s for lunch?
We hope you will be open to tasting what the kitchen team prepares, even if it is a dish that is unfamiliar or made differently than at home. However, if there is nothing you like on the table during a meal, you can also eat what we have available on the hot and cold bar.
For breakfast, there is cereal, oatmeal, fresh fruit, yogurt, granola, and hard-boiled eggs available in addition to what is served on your table. For lunch and dinner, we always have a full salad bar with over a dozen vegetable and protein options, such as cheese cubes, baby carrots, and edamame. There will also be rice, beans, and sometimes leftovers offered at the salad bar. And it gets better…lunch and dinner are followed by dessert!
If you get hungry between meals, there is always fresh fruit available in the Dining Hall. You can help yourself to bananas and apples any time. Milk and Cookies are served at night, Monday through Friday, before you head back to your cabin for bedtime.
On Sundays we will have Cookout Supper, where we eat picnic-style on the turf field at the gym. On these nights we will have hamburgers or hot dogs with sides like watermelon, bean salad, and macaroni and cheese. If you are vegetarian or have any allergies, substitutions will be provided during the cookout as well.
Where do I get my substitutions?
If you have a food allergy or sensitivity, we offer dietary substitutions for the main course and dessert, at a minimum. (Parents, please see our Allergen Policy in the health section of our website.) Your food substitution will be ready for you in the front window with your name on it. The substitutes will be as close to the original dish as possible. For example, as an alternative to spaghetti with meat sauce, we will offer gluten-free noodles and a vegetarian sauce.
At the front of the Dining Hall, to the right of the big window, you’ll see the Allergy Board. This is where we will list any allergens present in the meal, so you can know what to avoid eating if you have any of those allergies. For example, if we are having pancakes for breakfast, the board would list eggs, wheat, and milk as allergens present in the pancakes. Potential allergens found on the salad bar are not listed on the allergy board, but you can always ask the kitchen staff or a director if you have a question about any of the food.
When it’s time for dessert, the kitchen team will provide any necessary substitutions for you at the same front window where you got your meal substitutions. For example, if we have ice cream sandwiches, a gluten free and dairy free frozen treat will be provided for those who need it.
What will I eat on trips?
If you go on a trip off-property, we’ll pack delicious picnic-style lunches and hot meals for breakfast and dinner. As a trip group, you might cook fajitas, pita pizza, pasta, or jambalaya for dinner. Popular breakfast options include oatmeal, grits, or breakfast burritos. Usually lunch is something easy to eat while on the trail or the river, like turkey and cheese sandwiches, BLTs, chicken caesar wraps, or pepperoni bagels. We will also have snacks and trail mix so you won’t go hungry while on your adventures!
For meals eaten out of the Dining Hall on trips and pack outs, substitutions will still be given to you. For example, if we have packed sandwiches for lunch during a trip, gluten-free bread will be provided to those who can’t eat gluten.
Let’s Eat!
Food at camp is delicious, plentiful, and varied! We’ll make sure that you always have enough to eat, even if you have a food allergy. Alli, our Director of Food Services, is here to answer any questions. You can also read more about camp cooking here.
