Gluten-Free Summer Camps

7 Comments

1. 

   allegra December 6, 2013

   how do you chose place and can be sure that it is allergen free?

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     connielveilleux December 13, 2013

     Hi! Great question! If you have a particular camp in mind, I would begin by calling them directly and asking if they can accommodate your child’s needs. If they say yes, then continue to ask the all important questions, only a few of which include 1)how and where is the allergen-free food prepared, 2)how do they safe guard against cross-contamination, 3)how are snacks handled to be kept safe for the allergen-free child, etc. I would call and speak to the director, the head chef, and the medical staff on campus. See if their answers are in sync with each other. This is how I handle interviewing the camps I put on this Events Calendar before they are included.

     If you are interested in one of the camps listed here, I would still do this process until I was satisfied with the results.

     When my son was in eighth and ninth grade, he went to a music camp. It was a smaller camp and very personalized, but was not known for dealing with food allergies. I coordinated with the head chef and director, and we decided I’d make all of his food (similar to what the menu was for the week at camp) at home, vacuum seal everything, label it according to which meal it was for, then store it in their kitchen. Upon arriving at camp, he was introduced to the kitchen staff. At meal times, he would simply go to the kitchen counter and one of the staff had carefully heated his food and handled it separately from the other items being served. His food was served on kitchen ware that was the same as everyone else’s, but was safe. This worked seamlessly the two years he attended the camp. More work for me initially, but my son had an amazing opportunity to be just like everyone else and attend a camp of his choice.

     I must note that my son is extremely sensitive to gluten and dairy, but he does not have anaphylaxis results. He was also old enough to understand that he should never share food or try something new when he wasn’t at home.

     I hope that helps! If you have more questions or would like to chat with me personally, please feel free to send me an email and we can coordinate a phone conversation. 😀 Happy Camping!

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2. 

   Christina McGlynn December 26, 2013

   Dates: August 1-3, 2014
   Price: $75
   Location: Comstock Camp, 1419 Taughannock Blvd., Ithaca, NY 14850
   Contact: Email Sabrina DeVos at sabrina40154@yahoo.com
   http://www.celiacstrong.weebly.com
   This two-night weekend camp was started by Sabrina DeVos, a Celiac girl scout, as her project to earn her “Gold Award” in Girl Scouts. It will be a worry-free weekend for boys and girls, ages 8-15, and the camp will be able to accommodate both gluten free and lactose free diets. For more information, visit http://www.celiacstrong.weebly.com or email Sabrina directly at sabrina40154@yahoo.com

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     connielveilleux December 28, 2013

     Thanks, Christina, for the camp info. I’m sure this will be handy help for folks looking for a gluten-free camp. Please keep us updated if you have any changes. 😀

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       Christina October 31, 2015

       The update is:

       http://www.CeliacStrongCamp.org
       Camp runs this year from July 24 – 27, 2015. Three nights this year – thank you for updating.

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         Christina October 31, 2015

         sorry I meant 2016

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         Connie Veilleux November 9, 2015

         Thanks very much for the update. Just to be clear, camp is from July 24-27, 2016. 😀

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