Outdoor Education Food Service

Meal Processes and Expectations:

Food can be served family-style or buffet-style, depending on the needs of your school. Students will sit with 7 other students with an adult to oversee the meal process (often this is the adult staying with them in their cabin). This fosters a sense of camaraderie among the students and allows time for cabin-mates to get to know each other. Only one person from each table should be up from the table at a time during meals to reduce accidents and spills.

Students are encouraged to start with small servings so that everyone at the table gets a first helping from the food on their table at the beginning of the meal as well as to reduce food waste. A cart with seconds will be available soon after the beginning of the meal for students who are still hungry. We do not always have seconds for every item served at meals. Camp Sealth also provides snacks for students to take with them to eat in between meals.

Menus:

Meals are balanced, with fruits and vegetables readily available in addition to the main course. Fruits are available at breakfast, while a salad bar is available at lunch and dinner. Some typical camp meals for students include grilled cheese sandwiches, spaghetti with meatballs, hot dogs, pizza, burritos, French toast, waffles, pancakes, scrambled eggs, chicken sandwiches, pasta alfredo, chicken nuggets, and more. Coffee, tea, and hot chocolate are also always available at our coffee bar for adults only.

Allergies and Dietary Needs:

Information about students’ dietary needs are collected through the Camp Sealth waiver before you arrive so that we can offer nutritional and filling alternative options at each meal for gluten-free, dairy-free, vegetarian, and vegan diets, as well as for most major food allergies. Please keep in mind that special diet alternatives may differ from the main menu and we do not provide an exact substitution for every single menu item. Due to supplier and kitchen infrastructure limitations, we cannot accommodate some diets such as: strict Kosher or halal diets, all-organic or non-GMO, keto, paleo, and highly restrictive diets with multiple allergies. Additionally, while we make every effort to avoid cross-contamination, we cannot guarantee that the kitchen and dining hall are completely allergen-free.

Camp Sealth is 100% peanut-free. We do not serve any peanut products in camp and check all food served to ensure it was made in a peanut-free facility. However, we cannot guarantee there is no possible other nut cross-contamination, as some food provided is processed in facilities that also process other nuts.

If you have any concerns about your child/youth under your care’s dietary needs, please reach out to our Food Service Director, Eileen Burke at foodservice@campfireseattle.org at least two weeks prior to your arrival to receive specific details about what we can accommodate. Everyone is welcome to bring and store their own food at Camp Sealth if needed to accommodate their diet.

Kitchen Party (KP):

As part of their commitment to stewardship at Camp Sealth, all students participate in KP sometime during their Outdoor Education experience. During KP, students help with various meal setup and clean-up tasks. KP gives students an opportunity to be stewards of important community spaces and experiences. KP is usually completed with the same students as their cabin or activity groups. KP groups report to the dining hall 15 minutes before the meal and stay 15 minutes afterward.