Pack Campout and meals

[ScoutNut 147]

foto - Some of the counties in the Chicago area have youth group campsites in their forest preserves that include cabins. This gives the non-tenters a nice option.

 

Cooking as a Pack is not that much of a problem. As I said we use Kaper Charts that split the duties up nicely. We usually stick with "kid friendly" meals like burgers & dogs which are prepared on portable grills which are brought by some of the folks. We also have a pot luck type of thing with everyone signing up to bring some type of food for the weekend.

 

As far as planning goes, the families let us know when they register the number of campers, when they will be arriving and leaving and what meals they will be there for. They also get a copy of the camp adgenda beforehand so they know what is happening when.

 

Of course, we do not have 300 people at our campouts either. We usually average about 30 - 50.

 

 

[fotoscout 15]

My "den family" is at least 30.

[abbyfarber 10]

Here's my challenge as Cubmaster:

Our pack likes to camp - a lot. This is a good thing! We do the Council/district events (Webelos Woods, Camporees with Webes II, and Cub-Parent weekends, also some "family camping")

 

Here's my challenge - I work with the leaders to plan a well-structured cooking experience (planning menus, making assignments, etc.) Simple meals, kid friendly (hot dogs, hamburgers, pancaks)If this is a weekend trip, we say that Fri. night dinner is on your own 'cause some families arrive late due to work responsibilities. We explain expectations to all the parents (Scouts will be expected to do their assignments, parent expected to gently assist but NOT do the work, CM (me) will ensure that boys are doing the cooking and not just running around....etc. etc.) Communication in person at meetings, in writing, by email, by phone.

 

I realize that we are Cub Scouts, but I figure we can start to mirror the Boy Scout camping experience in a limited way. (example, parents oversee use of campstoves, grill, etc. Boys never unsupervised.)(oh yeah, I'm BALOO trained too, among other things...)

 

I also break us up into two "patrols" (mixed age groups) so that the groups cooking aren't overwhelming. (Beleive me I make the patrol assignments very carefully!) We generally have about 10-20 Cub Scouts on one of these events. Each "patrol" uses separate stoves/grills, but each menu is identical. The whole pack eats together.

 

OK so here's my "CHALLENGE". One or more parents, including a few leaders, always end up bringing additional food that they have cooked or will cook at the campsite - THEMSELVES! And it's not just food for themselves or their family - it's HUGE amounts of food they're cooking for everyone!

 

I'm not talking just bringing some extra snacks to share - that's OK by me. It's not about that their son or they can't eat what we've decided to make. It's not that they/their son is allergic. These parents are bringing entire meal alternatives along! This past weekend one parent went out and got bagels and coffee for everyone! Other weekends I've seen pizza, etc. etc magically appear to "augment" the planned menus. Chips, dip, etc. etc. One parent decided he/she would prepare food Friday night for "everyone", but arrived late; his/her food wasn't ready until around 9 PM.

 

All this after it was agreed upon at our planning meeting(s) what the menus and responsibilities would be. We had decided to keep things simple so that the boys could cook them and learn some skills and have a sense of accomplishment.

 

Now, I like a nice bagel, but that's not what was on the menu. I didn't make a fuss or get into an argument, esp. didn't want any of the Scouts to be embarassed by actions of parent. (it was done, I wasn't about to say "no, we're throwing out the Box o' Joe and the Bagels) but all of a sudden the simple breakfast which was supposed to be cooked primarily by the Scouts has morphed into something else.

 

Another example - there was a cooking contest this past weekend; it was agreed upon what the dish would be; but at the last minute one of the leaders shows up to make one of his/her "speciality" dishes. The Scouts did help with this extra dish - sort of. Now, the finished dish was yummy, even took a 3rd place prize....but the adult is heard commenting "if I only had 10 more minutes it would have won". Of course, I said to him/her "um you mean, if only the BOYS had 10 more minutes".....you get the idea here)

 

After all the planning that we did, I feel like these few adults are still just not getting it - that Scouting is not about entertaining the Scouts and doing whatever you individually feel like doing, but that it all has a purpose - the whole purpose of Scouting! (you know, the character development, citizenship, leadership etc. etc. stuff!)

 

And cooking together and working as a team is one of those methods to acheive the purposes of Scouting. We may "just" be Cub Scouts, but I've seen that the Scouts can handle this. In fact, for the few meals that were not "amended" by the adults, the guys did great and felt proud of themselves!

 

We've agreed to do something as a group, but a few "renegade" adults just seem to do what they want.

 

Suggestions? I do happen to like these parents, one in particular works really hard; I just wish she/he/they would get the idea and stick with the plan.

 

Feel free to email me. Maybe we need to have group therapy!

 

 

[jteamnmj 10]

With our pack, depending on were we go, we sometimes cook as a unit or individually. When we do individual cooking everyone still shares. We just did a campout in France and we did it as a pack. Everyone agreed on the menu and then the menu was broken down and each family brought what was assigned to them. It worked out really well. We did Sloppy Joes for Friday night dinner, Breakfast burritos for Saturday morning breakfast, lunch was on our own as we were out in the field so everyone did sandwiches, and Saturday night dinner was spagetti. The evening meals were cooked ahead of time so all that needed to be done was warming them up. We were on a time constraint so the meals were quick and easy. The boys and siblings had to clean the dishes. This weekend we are going to camp at Chalfont near London and because of limited amount of time to prepare for the campout and because only about 10 or so of our boys and families are going we are cooking on our own. Fridays meal will be on the road. My husband is doing foil babies for Saturday evening and will bring enough to share and teach the boys how to make. We will again do burritos for breakfast as the boys really like them. Most of our Sunday breakfast meals are quick as it is also a pack out day so we do oatmeal or muffins. I like doing the pack cooking cause then you reduce the risk of over packing.

Julie