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Hello, I run a summer camp and we are ALWAYS have trouble with our kitchen staff. We were looking to out source or find some new ideas this summer while still staying in budget...any suggestions? Thanks so much!

A camp that I used to work for does this, and has for about 40 years. In that case, they are contracted for a per-meal basis. I think they have eased up on it now, but for a year or two when I worked there, this meant lots of counting and having to maintain very accurate records, which were often not quite in agreement between camp and food service office. Also, there was an issue with many of the "local" residents being hired by the food service provider and compensated very well, while the camp staff were getting by with meager staff salaries. Whether or not you can say to your staff that "its not fair, but get used to it" is something to think about.

Whether to go this route or not, I guess it depends upon if you want control, or if you want your food service dicatated in advance by a contract.

The camp I mentioned uses Aramark Corp. currently (at least they were last year), but has used other contractors in the past. In the late 90's they went through 3 before settling on Aramark for good reasons. Aramark is a big national company and they do a good job as far as I've heard, and when I've visted there, the food has seemed good to me. In that situation, the Aramark people come from a nearby university (they are not doing much in the summer after all). But I'm sure the issues of local people washing dishes and making 10X the pay of camp staff who are doing more work for less money is still present. How could it not be.

A lot of school districts farm-out their food services too. So maybe a local school food manager in your town has some ideas of contractors in your locale.

Interested to hear what you decide and how it goes.

Regards,

Nick Carr, Ranger
Camp Agawam CVC BSA

I don't really have a direct answer to your question, but rather a suggestion.

I'm a Hotel and Restaurant Management Major at the University of Houston. I think that implementing the ServSafe program as a requirement for your Food Service staff would be a great idea. I know that I had to pay $30 to take the exam and get certified, but I know that it differs if you're doing it for a group. It teaches about personal hygiene, foodborne illnesses, food allergies, pest control, food safety, and sanitation processes.

Any way, I think that it's a wonderful program for anyone to do and I learned a lot. Here's their website:

http://www.servsafe.com

I hope that helped :).

This year we did more cook from scratch which is cheaper on the food bill a bit. We used that to hire more staff for the kitchen. Most of them came from local schools. We hired there staff they knew the health codes and followed the states nutrition guidelines. It worked well over all they lived local and didn't need to be housed.

I follow the thought that good food will make campers more happy then a new blob or iceberg. Good food also helps keep the staff moral high. I always make sure to put extra effort into making sure it runs well.

I know Im responding late but keep us in mind the next time you go out to bid.

Premier Food Company
100 Lock St
Cincinnati, Ohio 45215 Mike Moeller

Hi My name is Mike Moeller with Premier Food Management in Cincinnati Ohio. We specialize in child nutrition and in the summer when are schools are closed we look for resident camps to operate their foodservice or consult to them. If you are interested our office number is 513- 541-0222 or return email. Thanks, hope to hear from you

my name is Garry Huffman and I have worked for the past 12 years at Clemson University Outdoor lab, Our camps are Camp Hope and Camp Sertoma. we are A camp for special needs, and under privilidge, blind and deaf. I was in food service and due to state budget cuts the food service has been outsourced. I have been in food service for the past 27 years and I am looking for another camp food service dirctor's position. I am up to date on health codes and I truly love woring in a camp setting. If any one knows of any position please e-mail me at huffmangarry@yahoo.com thank you if you can please help me find another position. I am willing to relocate