Food & Cooking: Grubmaster Duties

Plan your meals so they can be prepared, eaten and cleaned up within the time constraints of the weekend program.  A camp-out with a planned activity schedule will offer a limited specific time for meals. Other outings may allow more time for meals. Menu planning should occur at least five days prior to any outing the menu is for. The following is a typical weekend camp out schedule for menu planning.

Review your menu to see that it is balanced nutritionally. Always try to represent the four+ basic food groups at every meal.

• Group 1:  Breads, cereals, rice, pasta (up to 11 servings per day)
• Group 2:  Fruits (4-5 servings per day) & Vegetables (4-5 servings per day)
• Group 3:  Milk, yogurt, cheese (2-3 servings per day) & meat, fish, eggs, beans (7 oz per day)
• Group 4:  Fats, oils, sugars (use small amounts)

• Sodas and canned-drinks are not allowed. Water is always available as dehydration is a major concern due to the physical activity at outings.
• Store-bought donuts, pop-tarts, candy and beverages like Sunny-D are not allowed.
• Food preparation may fulfill requirements of 1st Class or cooking merit badge.
• Always stay within your budget.
• Ensure you plan for patrol members with food allergies or dietary restrictions. It is EXTREMELY important to get their input for satisfying food substitutes (i.e. meat, dairy, gluten-free, etc.).
  (See the links regarding intolerance and allergies of our Food and Cooking Guides)

Breakfast Ideas

Lunch Ideas

Dinner Ideas

Cracker Barrel Ideas

Your patrol members are going to be hungry and unhappy if you don’t buy enough food and leftover food is often wasted if you buy too much.  A Scout is Thrifty is an important Scout Law to remember.  You must keep track of which patrol members are going and if they have paid their money. Knowing your budget, planning your meals, and managing your funds are a big part of being successful in this leadership task.

Budgeting
A weekend camp out food budget is usually between $15 to $20 per Scout. Other outings have their cost determined early in the planning process and communicated to Scouts and parents. That includes a Friday cracker barrel, three meals on Saturday, and breakfast on Sunday. For longer or shorter trips, adjust accordingly. Always save all your receipts and turn them in at the next Troop meeting.

Get a firm count of how many patrol members are going at the outing prep meeting. If you have 10 patrol members and 7 have said they are going, your budget is $140, not $200. Once you know the number attending, use the Patrol Menu & Grocery Planner and plan to buy only as much food as your patrol will need.  Buying too much food will cost your patrol extra money and is often wasteful.  Stay within your budget.

Save your Receipts
Place them in an envelope labeled with your name and Patrol, and the total cost of the food, ice and supplies. Buying food for the patrol is supposed to be a break-even proposition. As Grubmaster, it is your responsibility to stay within your food budget.  Spending beyond your budget must be approved by your patrol members. Turn in your receipts when you drop off the food. The sooner we get your receipts, the sooner we can reimburse you and close out the event budget.

Buying Tips

• Parents can transport the scout to the store and offer a little free advice, but do no more.
• The Scout should do the shopping and needs to choose the food and make the decisions.
• Stick to the plan and use our menu planner worksheet.
• Make sure you know how many people to shop for.
• Shop early. The five-day-out policy gives you several days ahead on which to shop.
• On the day of departure, pack your cold items in a personal or troop cooler for the weekend.
• Pack dry goods in a tote or box to avoid items getting damaged during transport.
• For ice, it is recommended to fill a gallon water jug ¾ full of fresh, clean water and freeze it.  For best results start the freezing process several days prior to the outing.
• During really hot months, multiple frozen jugs may be necessary. Avoid bagged & loose ice.
• Don’t overbuy items like milk, fruit, and vegetables. We want our scouts to eat right but we end up throwing away a lot of healthy stuff on Sunday.
• Don’t buy things we already have. Check supplies in the troop before going shopping; we usually have items left over from previous outings that can be reused.
• Control costs. You can do this by purchasing store brands, avoiding individually-packaged items, and picking raw ingredients over prepared foods, and looking for sales and coupons.
• Don’t worry. Since the BSA was founded in 1910, there have been absolutely no recorded cases of scouts starving to death on a weekend camp out.

At-home preparation will also make cooking at camp easier and quicker. ALWAYS remember safe kitchen and food handling. It is easier to prepare meals inside in a nice warm kitchen with running water than outside in a barren cold campsite or pouring rain!

This could be a shared or delegated responsibility. Consider having a patrol pizza or movie or video game party at someone’s house and doing some food prep at the same time (parental guidance encouraged).

• Scrambled eggs? Scramble the raw eggs at home and placed in a tightly sealed container.
• Diced meats and veggies (chicken, carrots, celery)?  Prep at home and put in separate zip bags.
• Bacon, ground burger or sausage?  Precook at home. Eliminates grease to make clean-up easier.

Be sure to follow health and safety guidelines when preparing and packing food to prevent illness and cross-contamination.

Do you like squished bread for sandwiches? Pack the food in ways to protect it in the coolers and totes so it can be safely transported to the campsite. If necessary, the troop can provide a cooler and food tote for the Grubmaster.

Remove excess wrappings to reduce weight and trash at the campsite. Zip-lock type plastic bags are an excellent choice. Instead of purchasing bagged ice, fill one or more clean one-gallon jugs ¾ full of water and freeze several days before departing. Remember to keep the jug’s cap off during the freezing process. By having frozen water jug(s), you can avoid melting ice making your patrol’s food in the cooler all soggy and, if need, you’ll have another source of cold drinking water.

The Scout who bought the food is responsible for removing all food from the food totes and coolers and disposing of it, making sure the the totes and coolers are clean, and throwing away spoiled or ruined food. Food that is okay should be offered to be split among the patrol members.