Camp

[roo#9]

hey

Have any of you guys every been to a summer camp or something. Did you bring your own food or what?

[CarlaB]

You might want to pm flagbabyds. She's been to summer camp. She hasn't spent as much time on the message board as she used to, but I'd bet she can answer your questions if you pm her.

[MJS]

l

[MJS]

Hey roo#9,

I attended an overnight summer camp last summer for 2 weeks. what i did was bring a couple boxes of cereal for breakfast, gluten-free bread and pb&j for lunch, and some frozen meals for dinner. usually there was something gluten-free i could eat in at least one of the meals (like eggs for breakfast, potatoes and salad at lunch and dinner). i also brought a few boxes of crackers to keep in my cabin just in case.

Just be sure to bring enough food! I was new to the diet when I went to camp, so i wasn't that good at label-reading and stuff. I also didn't bring enough food and my dad had to drive down and bring me a loaf of bread and frozen dinners (luckily it's only an hour away from home). Bring a variety, too. I got so sick of my millet bread by the end of the second week that I couldn't eat it for months afterward.

Also call ahead and tell the director or whoever's in charge about your problem. Then they can plan on where you will keep your food and stuff like that. And talk to the food staff once you're there about the food that they are preparing in advance. Out of two weeks, I was able to eat 3 of the main dishes at dinner.

I really hope this helps! It is hard to do, but you can be gluten-free at camp and still have a great time! (I have to warn you--kids are inherently nosy and rude, so don't be surprised when half the camp asks you about the "weird" food you're eating and why)

[Kassie]

what kind of camp will you be goin to? i am goin to a girl's camp in the 2nd week of june, its a church thing so there wont be tonz of people and i know everyone and they know my condition. Make arrangments before hand to know what sort of cooking devices will be available and bring food for the meals you cant eat also ask ahead of time (like a week before camp) if they know whats goin to be on the menu. good luck

[roo#9]

MJS - Thanks for all the help! I will keep all of those things in mind. Ya, people have said my food looks weird before, it kind of gets annoying. I don't know anybody my age with celiac (I only know like 3 people who have it) So, where are you from?

Kassie - I am going to a church camp too! I am super excited. it is actually a family camp but I am volunteering there. Thanks for all the help, I will tell them about my allergies before I go.

[MJS]

hey, i'm glad to help!

i'm from gainesville, florida (home of the gators ), just a couple hours north of orlando. the camp i go to is really awesome, i've been going since 2nd grade and we do pretty much every activity ever invented. i'm going to an adventure camp this summer where we canoe down a river and camp out for a week. finding a way to bring food will be hard, but i'm really excited.

yeah, i don't really know any people with celiac. except for one of my friends who is a year older than me was diagnosed a month ago. the funny thing is that we've gotten a lot closer this past month just because we can relate. it's great having someone to talk to about things with.

well, hang in there! btw, where are you from? what is the camp like that you're going to?

[Run-4-Jesus]

A few summer's ago I went to a Christian camp and my mom and I explained to all the directors about my situation. We brought lots of gluten-free food and they cooked it for me. So when everyone else was lining up to go through the food lines, I just went back to the kitchen and this really nice lady had my food all ready for me. Most of the kids asked why I was eating weird, different stuff simply because they're curious. But everyone at my camp was really nice about it after I told them why. They all asked about a million questions though, example: Oh my gosh, how do you live without eating bread? What happens if you eat it? Have you never tried an oreo...a biscuit...spaghetti...and the list went on and on.

Then two summer's ago I went to cross country camp. I didn't explain my situation to anyone there because the camp was held on a college campus and we got to eat the food from the cafeteria at the college. There was always a variety of salads, lunch meats, veggies, and fruits that I could eat - so the only things I had to bring from home was a loaf of bread and some cookies!

HAVE FUN AT CAMP!

[marriedtoceliacman]

Hey you all! Just wanted to share a funny story! My husband has had celiac disease since the mid 1980's. He was a young child when he was diagnosed. He went to camp one summer and ahead of time his mom called and confirmed that they would feed him gluten free diet. So he gets to camp ( he was probably around 10 years old) And every time they served bread or something he couldn't eat they would give him rice cakes. He ate rice cakes at almost every meal! Now look back 15 years ago, we all laugh together about his week of rice cakes. The world has really changed and improved since then and there are so many great gluten free products!

[GF Family of 4 Since 2002]

Roo,

I'm glad to hear that you are attending a family camp. Does this mean that your Mom (or someone) will be there with you to help w/food?

I do such camps with my kids (age 10 and 12) - we are all gluten-free. So, I am able to prepare our meals, and the camp directors have always been helpful. I use the kitchen ahead of time, when the cook isn't there. I bring my own equipment, and food. Then wash my dishes after all the others are done.

Sometimes we are able to use camp-supplied food, that I get from the cook before the meals are prepared. I try to get the menu ahead of time, and make similar meals to the other campers. Then our food doesn't look so wierd - just different.

Consider a propane stove, or bring gluten-free dedicated electric appliances, even dutch-oven cooking with charcoal is fun.

There are also gluten-free-Summer camps offered around the country. One is a Family Camp, offered here in New Mexico. We went last year - it was great to not have to prepare mels for 5 days straight !!!! UNPRECEDENTED !!! Chk out the www.celiac.com calendar for July to see the details.

Have Summer Fun, Lori -Haley, Jack - and Mike.

[Eesha]

I know this post is old, but for anyone looking for camp advice:

I did a sleepaway camp for three weeks at Vassar College in NY. Since it was a college campus (not woods camping) I didn't really have a problem with the diet.

I spoke to the coordinators ahead of time and they told me to bring gluten-free food. I brought bread, cookies, crackers and pretzels. They let me store my bread in the dining hall fridge, so all I had to do was ask one of the attendants to get it for me whenever I wanted some. The snacks and such I just kept in my dorm room.

Breakfast wasn't that much of a problem, but it did get boring eating the same thing everyday. I stuck to scrambled eggs, potatoes and fruit. For lunch I usually ate some gluten-free bread and they had a cold cut bar so I made sandwiches. For dinner, I ate salad and maybe some chicken (if it wasn't breaded or anything).

The kitchen staff was really nice and answered all of my questions about the food and looked up ingredients for me. I don't think I got too sick because of gluten contamination (maybe a little stomach ache once or twice). But I did get food poisoning!! I ate hot dogs at the 4th of July bbq and I guess they had been sitting out for too long, or undercooked? I'm not sure, but it wasn't because of gluten. Other than that, camp was really really fun. No one really bothered me about the diet. The first few days the kids at my dining table asked why I was eating different looking bread and such. But after I explained everything, it wasn't a big deal at all. Also, my birthday came during camp and my counselors and friends got gluten-free ice cream to celebrate (instead of cake). It was really sweet.

Email me if you have any questions: moonstruck_eyes@yahoo.com

[eeyore]

I went to a week-long camp a few weeks after I was diagnosed as gluten and casein sensitive...I brought homemade, frozen lunches and dinners (the nurse had a microwave in her cabin) and gluten-free bagels and cereal, and rice milk for breakfast. For snacks I took corn/tortilla chips and homemade chocolate chip cookies...The trip took two days to make, and for on the way there and back I would find extras of what I had or had eggs cooked in coconut oil.