Eat the Camp Lunch or Bring His Own?

Wow Heather! That's great that you found such a wonderful camp!

As long as you are feeling completely comfortable with him sharing in the meal, (and it sounds like they really know what they are doing), you should let him. Explain that the kids will no longer be bringing food from their kitchens with peanut butter but it will be made in the special peanut free kitchen for everyone to enjoy. It's the camp's peanut free food.

That sounds great! Of course, even parents of PA kids have different ideas about what's safe and what's not, so maybe you should ask some questions about how the food is prepared, especially the desserts. If they say the lunches are safe for those with peanut allergy, I'd feel comfortable with letting my son eat mac & cheese or pizza, but I'd still want to know more about how the cookies or other treats are prepared. I'm much more careful with baked goods than I am with other types of food--maybe it's the same for you.

Thanks so much for your advice! I took Sandra's advice and asked to see the kitchen where the food is made. Turns out it is brought in by Children's Chef in Quincy, Massachusetts. Anyone ever hear of them? Anyway, I contacted Children's Chef just now. The lady was very nice but she services over 2,000 children a day. She does make pb sandwiches and pb crackers on the same surface as all of the other food but she sanitizes it in between. She prefers to use Uncrustables (figures) but some facilitilies prefer sandwiches. She has been in the business for 7 years and has on 2 occassions accidentally sent a pb sandwich to the Y camp which was caught by the staff and the sandwiches were sent back before reaching any children. She is not aware of any child ever reacting from cross contamination with her food. I'm really glad I called her and as much as I want my son to eat the same food as the other children, I don't think I feel comfortable with that. He goes again on Thursday when they are having mac and cheese and I think I'm just going to send him with his own mac and cheese. It's just too important. What do you guys think? I can look at the menu each week and try to mimic what they other children are having as best I can or I can just send cream cheese and jelley sandwiches which are his favorite anyway. I feel like I'm confusing him first telling him that he needed to bring his own food, then last night I told him it was safe to eat their food and now I'm going to tell him he has to bring his own food again. Oye, this allergy is never easy, is it?! I learned a lesson from this too that I need to march into the camp before it starts and talk to the director face to face and check things out. I thought I had done that pretty well at the open house (which was at the main branch of the Y, not the preschool facility where the camp is), but I guess not since I didn't know about this Children's Chef, nor did I know the other children aren't allowed to bring in their own food.

Well It is one of those great things,but yet what to do things. I myself know i would end up doing my own packing for chris just to be safe.
The thing is that your son is only 4 and by allowing him to eat food other than your own may send mixed messages. I would fix my own if I were you so that he will always be safe. Just try and fix things close to what they are having.
I think your 4 year old will have an excellent time but we always need to be thinking of what if he were in a similar situation but with unsafe food. he may say "mommy let me eat theirs before so i will now". Not that i want to frighten you just I am always thinking about what ifs. Good luck to your little one. claire

My son is going to a camp that decided to go peanut/nutfree a few weeks before camp started. The lunch is catered by Chartwells Food Service. The food is made in the kitchen at the camp. It is the first year that this camp has been peanut/nut free. The chef is trying really hard to make this happen, but as you know, it takes time to check with all the manufacturers. He is finding that most manufacturers will not guarantee that the foods are free of cross contamination. (Welcome to our world!) So he puts a disclaimer up on the buffet table. Nothing is served with nuts or with a may contain label. However, the camp is a school during the rest of the year. The school is not peanut/nutfree. The food is cooked on equipment used by the school during the year. There are some packages of nuts in the "pantry" as well as some snacks that do contain. These are for the school year, not for the camp. But they are there.

Clearly not within my comfort zone for my child to eat the food served there. He brings his own lunch. He is happy at least that he doesn't have to wait on line to get his lunch!

Although there are 10 other kids at the camp that are peanut and/or tree nut allergic, I am the only mother that has spoken to the chef and gone through the kitchen, checking ingredients, etc. I think we are also the only ones that pack our own lunch!

My feeling about the peanut/nutfree camps and schools is generally that it provides a very low risk environment for my children, and so gives me a peace of mind that I don't have in other places. However, I do not yet have a comfort level with letting my son eat camp or school food. I would love to be able to do that. He would really enjoy that too!

I also worry about confusing him about the safety rules and being consistent has paid off. When I make exceptions, I feel like I am creating confusion. My son is 6 yrs. old and very careful, but really is not ready to make decisions like which oreos are safe, etc. We rarely eat store bought cookies. I would be concerned that the camp or school would provide snacks that we have avoided for years because they come in so many varieties - some safe, some may contain - and are difficult for a youngster to determine which is ok to eat. When he gets older, I hope he will be able to increase his variety of foods by reading his own labels and calling manufacturers regularly.

At this point though, the simpler I can keep things, the safer he will be. Besides,it is always smart and less stressful to bring your own food, although not necessarily the most convenient.

[This message has been edited by kstreeter (edited July 03, 2003).]