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January 15, 2010
Camp food takes on a new role
Many camp menus are getting a healthy makeover, much to the delight of parents.
PEARL SALKIN
Just the mention of summer camp food brings back fond memories for camp alumni of all ages. For those who lived during the Great Depression and were lucky to get a scholarship to a Jewish camp, three filling meals a day and an escape from the hot city streets and rundown houses must have seemed like a miracle. Those of us who are baby boomers probably remember gobbling down plenty of macaroni-and-cheese lunches, stuffing our faces with buttery mashed potatoes, devouring countless high-calorie, high-fat dinners and enjoying celebrations that featured s’mores and other goodies that were satisfying but next to nil on the nutrition charts. Even kids who attended camp just a few years ago must have noticed the then-popular trend to make menus more sophisticated and pleasing to the palate, with not much attention to the food’s net value.
With so many of today’s headlines focusing on the increasing incidence of childhood obesity and stories of related health problems and ramifications both now and down the road, it’s no surprise that parents and camps are starting to take what kids eat very seriously.
Changing a camp’s menu can be a challenge. Input is often sought from consulting professionals such as physicians, nutritionists and dietitians. Factors such as cost, availability of ingredients and acceptance by campers must be considered.
Some camps decide to make dramatic changes to the dishes they offer; some take a more subtle approach, switching from whole milk to two percent, for example, without any fanfare. All have campers’ best interests at heart and try to do their best to serve foods and beverages that are both healthy and taste good.
One invaluable resource for Jewish camps throughout North America is the Foundation for Jewish Camp (FJC, jewishcamp.org). While this organization does not dictate what camps must serve nor establish mandatory programming about eating healthy foods and beverages, it provides guidelines, giving its support and encouraging camps to be the best that they can be in all aspects of camp life.
Alicia Zimbalist, FJC public relations manager, responded with an emphatic “Yes!” when asked about camps offering healthy cooking or gardening programs for kids and trends to serve more organic food products at camps.
“These types of programs are becoming more and more common. Some camps that have gardens and/or are teaching their campers about healthy cooking and organics include Habonim Tavor, Camp JCA Shalom [and] URJ Camp Newman [in the United States],” she said.
Zimbalist pointed out Eden Village Camp in New York, a new camp that will be opening this year. The experience there will focus on environmentalism and be rooted in a Jewish vision of an environmentally sustainable, socially just and spiritually connected world. Organic farming will be included in the programming.
Issues such as greening and sustainability – including farming – are on the agenda for discussion at the FJC Biennial Leaders Assembly conference in March. Coming up with a healthy yet “camper-pleasing” menu is no easy task for camp officials, who must also take into account campers with food allergies, dietary restrictions and assorted food-related issues, including kids who are picky eaters.
Liza Rozen-Delman, director of Camp Hatikvah in Oyama, B.C., disclosed her process. “As a director I have to juggle three major factors: nutritional value, what the kids are actually going to eat and cost. I consult with other directors of camps, hospital dieticians’ menu plans and campers themselves,” she said.
While Camp Hatikvah and other Canadian Jewish camps expressed an interest in on-site organic gardening, the climate and relatively short camp season usually make that impractical. “Unfortunately, growing our own produce would be extremely difficult. I do, however, support our local farmers for veggies and fruits,” said Rozen-Delman.
Recently, Camp Hatikvah has been switching to a healthier menu, which now includes more salads and fresh fruit, whole grain breads and cereals and low-fat/low-sugar foods and beverages. “We have salad bar stations set up at lunch and dinner; a breakfast bar with fruit salad, yogurt, etc. We serve our campers fresh fruit and bread – I try for whole wheat bread but they love their white all day long.
Romaine lettuce is chosen over iceberg; fruit popsicles versus no-real-fruit juice. We serve soy milk, rice milk, skim milk and one percent milk.”
Rozen-Delman also pointed out that many kids have only two or three food items in their food repertoire at home – pizza, french fries, grilled cheese and macaroni and cheese, and they often do not eat vegetables or fruit. Trying to please them, keep them sufficiently hydrated and adequately fueled for an active camp experience, and satisfy their parents’ request to get their children to eat meals that are nutritionally sound, are quite challenging missions for any mortal.
“Oy vey! I feel the grey hair sprouting from my head,” exclaimed Rozen-Delman.
Reviewing a sampling of camp menus that have been posted online, the appearance of lean meats – and serving them less often than in the past – seems to be another indication that camps across the continent are choosing healthier options. Lots of salads are featured. More vegetarian options reflect a growing number of campers who choose to be meat-free.
No doubt, back in the “good old days” of Jewish camping, nobody thought twice about serving fatty foods and fruits and vegetables that were grown with the aid of pesticides and fertilizers – a concoction of chemicals that would one day become ticking time bombs in our bodies. Now that science has revealed many of the mysteries about a child’s growth and development and has shown us evidence that what is consumed today will affect our kids’ health tomorrow, what kids eat and drink is a year-round concern. Before you register your children, make sure that offering a healthy diet is a top priority at the camp you are considering. That kind of peace of mind is priceless.
Pearl Salkin is a freelance writer based in Florida.
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