Is a child in your troop a picky eater or has dietary restrictions? Here are some tips for Girl Scout Camping and dealing with picky eaters that will help you not to stress.
Updated April 2023
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It is camping season for Girl Scouts, and one of the many things on a leaders to do list is meal planning. Depending on how long you are going, you may only have to plan two meals or as many six. If you are a parent, you may have a child who is a picky eater or one that has food allergies or sensitivities. You have become accustomed to meal planning around your son or daughter.
But meal planning for a troop of 10, 12 or more girls can become stressful when having to accommodate so many different palates.
What is a leader to do in this situation?
Image created by the author on Canva
First of all, dealing food allergies is your primary area of concern. If a child has a life threatening or any other kind of reaction to a certain food, like peanuts, then that is off the menu. It does not matter that little Taylor will only eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, there cannot be a life threatening food on the trip. It is really that simple.
You may also have girls in your troop who are not allergic to foods, but have different dietary restrictions. For example, my daughter was vegan (she is now vegetarian) during her last camping trip. She could eat certain foods the camping leader bought, but others, I provided. My daughter’s diet was not the problem of the camping leader nor the other parent volunteer.
If a child keeps the Jewish dietary laws of kashrut, then ask the parents what she can eat. Most foods are kosher (check the labels).
Photo from Pixabay
A girl who is a vegetarian has a lot of options as well. You can ask the parents to provide some food options or you can buy the brand of vegetarian hot dogs the girl eats and offer it to the others to try. They just may have a new food in their diet!
There are children who have sensory issues and my not be able to eat all the food you are providing. Again, ask the parents what you can do to help and if there is a special food that she likes and will eat, either you or the parents can provide it.
Children already know who has food allergies and sensitivities, so planning around it is really not a big deal. Here is how to go about planning your camping menu.
Let the Girls Choose
Girl Led is the Answer to the Parents
Part of being a Girl Scout is leadership, and one way for the troop to be girl led, even at the younger levels, is to let them choose what they want to eat.
Tell the girls the budget you have to work with and go from there. Brainstorm a list of camping foods that they would like to have. Eliminate any that could cause a health issue with anyone in your troop. Then vote on what to have on the menu.
Having the girls vote is KEY. If a parent complains, you can simply tell them that this is what the GIRLS VOTED ON. Each meal gets a different set of votes, so if a child does not love lunch, her choice for dinner was the one the troop will be eating.
Image from Pixabay
Be sure that you have two or three options per meal, along with bread, fruit and vegetables. Keep in mind if you have a lot of options, who is carrying all the extra food. Where my troop camps, we have a refrigerator by each set of tents. This is where we go back to have meals, so we do not have to cart food around.
A “Make Your Own” bar is one of the best options. For example, a taco bar or a baked potato bar can easily provide every girl with a multitude of options, from vegan to carnivore! Each girl can personalize her meal.
What About a Girl Bringing Her Own Food?
This is a challenging situation. On one hand, there are leaders who will not permit special meals to be sent in just because a child will not eat what you are serving. After all, if you let one child bring a meal, then you are opening it up to more problems. However, you risk a child not eating properly for the entire camping trip, which can cause illness or irritable behavior.
On the other hand, it will make a leader’s life easier if a scout’s parents are willing to buy and prepare food that their child will eat. By doing this, everyone knows that the child has a balanced diet that she will eat. As I mentioned previously in this post, when my daughter was a Senior Scout, she became a vegan. We scheduled a camping trip and I told my friend what she would eat and I prepared extra things to go along with what she was purchasing. The girls were older, friends forever, so there was no issue.
I am in the camp of respecting a child’s food preferences. Food is not something to stress over.
Girl Scout Camping Meal Idea Guide for All Kinds of Eaters
I wrote this guide to help leaders and their troops plan flexible meals for their camping trips. It includes meal ideas for breakfast, lunch and dinner, as well as side, snacks and desserts. I have also included a shopping list and meal planner guide.
How do you handle picky eaters on your camping trips?
