Did Someone Say CAMP Food?

Ohhhhhhh SUMMER!!!!!!

As the seasons change and you approach, my tastebuds excitedly await the summer treats cold to eat. Fresh cold watermelon that you MUST eat outside due to the juiciness of this thirst-quenching beast. Remember “Don’t swallow the seed or you’ll grow a watermelon in your belly!”, LOL. I can’t believe I hesitated to think if that was even possible. Yet I found myself saying the same thing to our Summer Campers of our YMCA. A program I LOVED to run for over 15 years in a few different states.

I LOVE food so naturally, my Camp Plans always involved cooking it, eating it, creating it and ……….. Playing with it! Yes, I said playing with it. WE can get back to that because I cannot emphasize how much more children (and those disguised as adults) go wild over summer yumminess. I could share a favorite but that would limit my favorites to only one and for me that is impossible. Instead, let me take you on a little summer journey with hundreds of children and staff that took great joy in indulging my food madness.

Camp always started out calmly out of necessity. I had to make sure that the parents understood that when their children came to our camp, they WILL come home dirty, exhausted, and full of fun stories. Of course, that would solely depend on the cooperation of children and their adults. An assembly of over 200 kids and their parents were clearly informed of the wild summer ahead and they HAD to sign a contract agreeing they were ok with all of it. Once they signed the docs WE kicked it OFF!!! Parents and children alike danced awkward dances led by yours truly, during repeat cadence songs like “Funky Chicken”. A fabulous icebreaker! Each counselor was introduced and the children were given their group assignments. A “get 2 know” your new summer friends gathering, as I and my few assistants snuck away to bring in the big surprise. YEP! FOOD!!!!! Everyone KNOWS that FOOD brings people together!

Don’t think for a moment that we all sat and enjoy a bit of a bite and chatted. BORING! It was a challenge!! Each group was given a mound of ice cream with ALL the toppings and the first to eat EVERY little morsel would be the team sitting at the FRONT rows for the band. Yes, a band! The local church we held our program in had a youth band that was AWESOME and everyone loved it! It was only the beginning of summer and there were a plethora of questions from doubting parents that we could maintain this level of summer excitement the entire time. Challenge accepted! LOL And always accomplished because I am one of those kids disguised in this adult form.

One of my favoritest experiences was Fruit Salad Chef with our KinderCampers. Ages five to ten were given delicious fruits to create their fruit sculptured creations for Miss S. (that's me) to drizzle my favorites with chocolate or yogurt of their choosing. Oh my goodness the excitement on their little faces when they saw all that cold fresh fruit (donated by local grocers)most of them had not had the opportunity to taste until then. Melons and mangos oh my! It was often hard to tell who was having more fun. The children, or the staff and myself, LOL. It’s all equally joyous, isn’t it?! I mean, that is was summer is supposed to be about for kids, FUN! AND fun with FOOD????? #WINNING

We also had events like “Pudding Charades” where the table they were sitting at (individually for all of you freaking out) was, LOL so they could lick their fingers. That's half the fun! And the winning team was topped with whip cream to finish them off. We had the upper ages learn to make meals like salads, sandwiches, and smoothies. Their favorite part was watching and tasting sometimes because sometimes……..they did not like what they thought would be yummy, LOL. Live and learn right? NOTHING ever went to waste because we had local people who took on all of the leftovers and paper products for their composts. Learning to cooperate with themselves, the counselors, the tasters, and the community. Hidden under the context of CAMP! Woohoo!!!

A HUGE and incredibly memorable event with food was the BBQs with my staff! Such diversity in the palates of each culture is represented. From potato salad to jambalaya it was DELISH! Best of all, it was never the same and we had a gathering like this every other week. A gathering to feast and release tension or laughter about the events that transpired during Camp week. And believe me, not all of it was a cakewalk! LOL WE are talking about children with parents attached and too often they conflict on what is fun and what is not. I never claimed the camp would be suitable for everyone and they were free to find another in the area. THIS, my staff, loved to hear! Advocacy for them and advocacy for the children. Sometimes it wasn't in favor of anyone if it was a complete misunderstanding. That's when clarity is brought to the table and left as cleared up. It was a successful partnership every year I introduced to all involved.

However, I must conclude that……….

The “food” event of every summer that tugged at my heart hard……..

The teens “Dinner with Family Night”. They learned to cook!! The church had a kitchen and they cooked, served, and cleaned up the meal they made for their parents. It was a dual event because the meal actually cost like a dinner date that their children arranged for them as single parents, married parents, partnered parents, and “chosen” parents. A way to say thank you, PLUS they wanted to hit the giant arcade at Disney World, which is NOT in a non-profit budget! LOL, They earned every penny and that was the BEST field trip EVER!!! The BEST behavior too! Hmmmmm there’s a lesson here, isn’t there?

So you see, I could not and cannot choose but ONE summer food favorite to share here with all of you. In fact, I could go on! Pie in the face…….. Spaghetti slinging…….. Oh my! Sprinkled with my own family time fun with summer foods, makes the best of the best of the HEAT! Lemonade stand anyone? Or maybe snow cones?! WE liked those too! Don’t YOU?