If you’ve been a Lunch Tray reader for a while, you might remember this “Hall of Shame” post that called out a summer day camp for actually requiring campers to bring four liters of soda and two dozen cookies per week.
That was a pretty extreme example of a camp doing a poor job of feeding kids, but it certainly isn’t an anomaly. For example, here’s what my kids were offered every single day for “snack” at a local chess camp a few years ago:
I have some theories about why camps serve junk food. First and foremost, it’s cheap. Second, it’s instantly crowd-pleasing, even in a large population of kids who come from all kinds of backgrounds with respect to food. Third, when we’re speaking about sleep-away camp, kids can be anxious and homesick, and camps may feel that plying kids with junk is a way of offering comfort. And finally, sleep-away camp offers kids a welcome respite from parental oversight, and camps may play into that sense of liberation by offering junk foods that parents might not make available at home.
Nonetheless, what camps feed kids does matter, especially at sleep-away camp where kids are completely dependent upon the camp for daily nutrition, sometimes for a month or more at a time. And even at a summer day camp, daily junk food, particularly when used as a reward, can still teach kids all the wrong lessons about healthy eating.
That’s why I really liked this new HuffPo post, “Did I Miss the Summer Camp Junk Food Consent Form?,” written by Caron Gremont of First Bites. In it, she asks all the right questions about junk food at camp, and she tells us about a current campaign by Salud America to get sugary drinks out of summer camps. It’s definitely worth a read.
This also seems like a good time to share (as I think I wind up doing every summer!) a favorite post from the TLT archives: “Ethical, Sustainable, Healthful: A Summer Camp That Gets Food Right.” There you can read all about a camp that doesn’t just make good, healthy food a priority, but also tries to educate kids in a thoughtful way about where their food comes from.
So, what’s the food like at your kids’ summer camp? Has junk food at camp been an issue for you? Share your thoughts in a comment below.
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BethG says
Ugh! This reminds me of my daughter’s first Girl Scout meeting. We got there and it was St. Patrick’s week and the table was loaded with all u can eat green dyed junk foods of all types. Deep, dark green frosting, bright green cookies, green m&ms, all artificially flavored and colored and when the girls couldn’t sit still for the formal part of the meeting, none of the moms or troop leaders seemed to make the connection…but me. And these are smart moms just as these camper moms I’m sure are too. The challenge is helping make the breakthrough, facilitating the big “aha” moment without offending people over their choices. It. is. hard.
Bettina Elias Siegel says
BethG: What you’re describing is something I’ve written about a ton here on TLT, particularly in the context of birthday treats in the classroom. It’s very hard to raise these issues without offending other parents (or teachers) and yet your kid is essentially captive in such situations, may well be attracted to the treats (that’s why they’re “treats,” after all!) and you find yourself feeling pretty helpless. It’s not an easy situation, for sure.
BethG says
“and yet your kid is essentially captive in such situations”…so true. It’s very difficult for most any kid to opt out when all the other kids are so enthusiastically all in. Even though I’ve coached my kids on moderate consumption of other peoples junk food, the truth is they love it and will devour it because it’s not something they get at home. So here I am…still hoping that more moms will start bring healthier foods to kid parties and gatherings. 🙂
Maggie says
From an operations perspective, just to give a different view.
Much like schools that are not properly equipped, I’d wonder about storage, on-site staff (with food safety licenses, if required) to prep fresh foods…things like that.
However, at least in the example shown, which encourages home-made foods, I can’t think they are really concerned about food safety.
But, on the other hand, in some cases there may not be refrigeration or storage for perishable foods in some locations, it may be outdated or insufficient in seasonal venues.
We face issues similar to this in our weekend backpack food programs. It’s tough to find healthful foods that don’t need refrigeration and don’t need to be cooked.
Bettina Elias Siegel says
Maggie: I appreciate your pointing this out. We have the same problem in my kids’ religious school, where refrigeration isn’t an option. Parents are asked to chip in to a snack fund at the start of the year, someone goes to Costco, and then those snacks are used all year long! But as I know you know, even nonperishable snacks don’t have to be junky: whole wheat crackers, whole grain pretzels, trail mix (if nuts are allowed), dried fruit, no-added-sugar fruit leathers, etc. Still, I’m glad you pointed out that there can be logistical constraints that lead camps and other groups to resort to junk.
Sally Kuzemchak says
That camp request for soda is crazy!! In the case of day camps, I would rather the camp leave snacks up to the parents. That’s what one of our local university-run day camps decided to do, because they didn’t have refrigeration or storage space. If anyone needs ideas for approaching a camp director about snacks or food in general, I have an email/phone template on my blog. I know parents often feel unsure about what to say and how to say it: http://www.realmomnutrition.com/2014/07/07/change-camp-snacks/
Bettina Elias Siegel says
Thank you for sharing that link, Sally! I know I sometimes have a tendency to rant — and then forget to offer people practical tips to help fix the problem. I love how your blog offers several templates for situations like this (or cleaning up soccer snacks) that people can actually use. 🙂
Hanna says
I’m glad that you, Sally & others are shining a light on the importance of healthy food at summer camp! As I mentioned on Sally’s post – growing up I was a longtime camper and then counselor at a YMCA camp in Iowa as a child. The camp is fantastic on the whole, but every afternoon, we ate as much soda & candy as we could manage–I remember begging my parents to send me more money so that I could buy more Snickers and Fun Dip (remember that florescent sugar in a box? Wonder if it still exists). Anyway, the point is that you’re absolutely right that junk food is prevalent among summer camps, and you have good theories for why–as a counselor, I especially noticed the last 2 reasons as key for many campers.