Healthy Eating for Kids at Camp? Imagine That!

I loved an article I read in the Times the other day about a few childrens’ summer camps in the Northeast which actually feed the kids real food!

Some grow their own veg, others purchase ‘poultry from the farm down the street’ and others have the kids dig in and help with the cooking process to boot.

What a novel concept!  

Keep in mind these camps aren’t necessarily camps to ‘learn to cook’ or ‘learn to grow a garden’. Rather, they’re typical summer camps in the sense that kids can attend to engage in activities like they would at any other camp such as horseback riding, learning to play musical instruments or sports.

I recall a summer camp I attended as a kid and there was a single day in which we learned how to cook a meal (which happened to be a dish called a ‘sloppy joe’ that seemed to have a prerequisite that all ingredients came from a can), but it was absolutely a one-off type of deal.   

I love the idea that the camps referred to in this article make the idea of showing kids how to grow a garden or prepare healthy meals part of a normal day and nothing out of the ordinary.

As it should be!

Let’s see more of this; if you’re a camp counselor, parent or citizen who leaves nearby to a camp, make your two cents heard (and maybe a little more than that if it’s in your budget).  Small changes make differences!