Yep Food Allergy Issues Again...we have to go through this again!

(Ignore the hyphenated links- I didn't put them in there. Don't click on them - they are just spam)

Remember my issues with gluten free food and camp last year? If not here it is: http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8805802396615111471#editor/target=post;postID=7575027716423073464;onPublishedMenu=allposts;onClosedMenu=allposts;postNum=11;src=postname
 Hopefully that takes you to the right place- if not it was published last July (2012).

So we had issues last year with the camp cook cooking my son's gluten-free food. Guess what?!?! We are having the same issues again this year!!!!!!! I have been so ticked off this week that I haven't been able to post. Here's what happened.

I emailed the camp cook (same as last year - unfortunately) and camp director (also same as last year). Here is an abbreviated version of my email.

Hi,
I need a menu of Cub Scout Resident Camp (2nd week) emailed to me.
My son, Pack xxx, has a raw carrot and gluten allergy. He is a Webelos so he will be there for the whole week. I will provide a revised menu (based on the menu you provide) with what he is allowed to eat and the substitutions that I have sent in place of what he isn't allowed to eat. He will bring 2 copies of the revised menu (1 for himself and 1 for you) and his gluten-free food with him when he checks in. If you need more than 1 copy of the revised menu let me know. Some of the food will need to be frozen or refrigerated until used. It will all be labeled with his name, Pack #, preparation directions, and the day/meal when he is to eat it.
I will be there on Fri June xx . If you could have the binder with the ingredients available on that Friday I will look up the items I have questions about.  Please send me the menu as soon as possible so I have a chance to look over it.
If you have any questions feel free to contact me via the info below or when I am at camp on Friday June xx.

We have other children in our Pack with food allergies. I will pass the menu on to them. Should they use the same emails to contact you with their specific allergies, alternative food, etc? Or is there another process with additional paperwork we need to fill out?

This is the exact response I got from the camp cook:

"Menu is attached. Who will be helping your son prepare his special meals. We are able to lend some assistance, but a leader or your son will have to take responsibility. Bill."

I could not believe it! We were going to go through this again?!?!?!

My response: (My husband assures me that ALCON means All Concerned. LOL)

"ALCON,
We feel that response is not acceptable since earlier this year Rxxxxxx Xxxxxx had already assured me that we would not have the same issues as we had last year. I am not asking for a reduced rate (due to us providing his food), that you change your menu for him, provide food that he is able to eat, or even that you have an allergen-safe prep area in the kitchen. All we are asking is that you accommodate him by having an area to store his food (which seemed to be an issue last year) and have someone to heat it (mainly microwave). You seem to be asking that we pay an additional camp fee for someone to be on call to cook his meals, or inconvenience one of his leaders by forcing them to fix his food, or make him responsible for his own food. While we don’t disagree that at some point he needs to be responsible for his own food, this is Cub Scouts- not Boy Scouts. I am not sure he needs to be responsible for preparing/cooking his own food in an unfamiliar kitchen with unfamiliar appliances. I am positive you do not want a dirt loving, unsupervised kid in your clean kitchen, due to obvious sanitary reasons.

A little history:
Two years ago we did not have any problems. I met with the cook and Dxxx “nickname” about 2 weeks before camp. We went over the menu, made an alternative menu for my son, and the cook even changed some things - such as serving the spaghetti noodles separate from the sauce so all I had to do was send in the gluten free noodles to be cooked. She or someone on staff cooked his food. As far as I know there weren’t any issues.

Last year there was an issue with everything. I asked for the menu well in advanced. I asked a few specific questions (such as if the potatoes and eggs were box or real) via email to the cook - to which I received no response until I contacted some additional people. I finally received a response the day before my son was to report to name of camp stating that I needed to come to camp and look in a book to check for allergens. I would have been glad to do this had I been previously informed. Upon arrival to camp, I was informed that I needed to provide a cooler for his cold food and a box for all his other food. I was also informed (very rudely) that I would need to report to the kitchen about 15 minutes before meals to prepare everything for him. Again, I was not informed beforehand. I was not there as his parent. I was there as a leader for my younger son. In the end I believe Rxxxxx Xxxxxxx assisted with most of his meals, while I prepared one or two meals when Rxxxxx was busy. During my preparations I noticed that he was not even listed on the allergen board in the kitchen!

After our experience last year I spoke to several people about setting up reasonable procedures for the name of camp cafeteria regarding food allergic scouts; hoping that we wouldn’t have the same issue this year. I was told the issue was discussed and handled at a camp planning meeting in September, which I was unable to attend due to a conflicting schedule with our Pack. When I spoke to Rxxxxxx Xxxxxx at the University of Scouting he assured me this issue was resolved. He also mentioned that name of camp plans to have gluten free cereals available and to serve a gluten free dinner. He also assured me that there would be someone to prepare my son’s meals.

As previously mentioned we feel your response is not acceptable. His doctor believes that it is necessary for him to stay on a gluten free diet. Again we are not asking for any special accommodations, other than someone to prepare (mainly microwave) his food. If you are unable to accommodate this request, please let me know as soon as possible."

The next email came from the camp director:

"we will certainly have someone there to assist your son. The issue is this. We have a floating kitchen staff meaning the same people are not cooking every meal. So it might be a bit confusing. So during those meals that he needs assistance please have him come to the door with a leader to let them know. Ask to speak to Jxxxxxxx. I'm sure we can work it out! He can always find myself or Wxxx Cxxxx to help him as well.
Rest assured we will take good care of him!"

While I am glad they more or less said they would fix his meals I am not completely happy with the response. First- if you have a "floating kitchen staff" then why is he to always ask for Jxxxxxxx? If she is going to be in the kitchen at all times why can't she just fix what he needs fixed? Second-It seems like they are saying that he will have to go ask them to fix his food every meal, after he has arrived for his meal. Meaning that everyone else will be eating and he will have to wait. They need to rethink this since almost ever meal he needs something replaced. Every meal he will have to wait at least 5-10minutes before he gets all his food? They have a limited amount of time to eat. If he is waiting 10 minutes for his food then that leaves him with very little time to actually eat it...especially since he will have to wait for it to cool as it will be too hot to eat immediately. I guess I will find out what happens when we get there. But they have to put something more permanent in place since food allergies are becoming more of an issue with kids. Guess this will be my next project...going to all the meetings and lobbying for the rights of kids with food allergies. :-(