Wednesday, February 20, 2002
Dear Scouts, Parents and Troop Committee Members:
Over the last 4 months, the Troop Committee asked Jean Reece (Troop Comm.), Tish Kashdan (Assist SM) and Humberto Collazo (Assist SM) met at CHUMC to discuss the issues raised concerning menu selection, distribution of food during scouting outings and the timing of payment for food bills. Over the past months, based on the initial concerns presented at the Dec 9, 2001 Troop committee meeting, we initially identified 4 areas for improvement. Then specific recommendations are included for further discussion at the next Troop Committee.
Humberto Collazo, Jean Reece and Tish Kashdan
A. Issues
1.Menu selection and preparation by the scouts
a.Was the selection process of food menu items in the patrol adequate?
i.How were conflicts resolved? All patrol members should have something they will eat in each meal.
ii.Were allergies and/or special dietary needs recognized?
iii.Did the adult signing the menu form make sure that the needs of all the patrol members were met by the menu?
iv.Was there adequate detail of the menu for the adult to judge the menu?
v.Was there adequate detail of the menu for the scout buying food to obtain everything necessary for each meal?
2.Cooking and preparation of the food
a.Are the young scouts comfortable with the patrol box and its use?
b.Do the scouts know how to prepare the menu they have chosen?
3.Distribution of the food during the activity
a.How to ensure that a scout would not eat selectively some food and not others?
b.Are there any scouts who do not eat by choice?
4.Total cost of the food per camping outing
a.Do the scouts understand the value in using lower price brands?
b.Is there an adult advising the scout while they are grocery shopping especially the first time they shop for the group?
c.What is a reasonable expense per boy per meal?
i.2 to 3 dollars per boy per meal OR $10-$15 per 3 day trip.
1.Considering that these growing kids who are exercising/working and will tend to be hungry, you may want to increase even further the allowance for total food
d.Did the person buying food request reimbursement for food from the troop when the patrol provides food for guests?
i.For example, if the buyer purchases food for 15 people at the request of the SM/TC, but only 10 of the people are troop members, the scout must request the Troop Treasurer to pay for the food for the additional 5 people.
B. Suggestion/Recommendations
Here are some suggestions/recommendations that could implement to address some of the questions raised above. Some maybe trivial to implement, some may require additional investment of time and effort by the parents and leaders.
1.Use the April Cooking theme to reinforce some of the issues and solutions.
a.First Week (Cooking Safety and Economics)
i.Each scout will make a 3 day menu written/typed to the meeting
ii.Present their menus in their patrol and talk about food preference conflicts
iii.Make Scouts more aware of food allergies and how this may limit the menu selection
b.Second Week (Food Preferences and Food Nutrition)
i.Take their menu and find the cost. Then look at the high, medium and low price for its menu. Report the prices and discuss how this makes a difference
1.Brand vs generic, large vs right size,
c.If all present member do their home work, they should be credited toward their Patrol of the month totals
2.Assign the Troop Guide to orient new scouts (maybe some 2year scouts too!) on menu preparation and the use of the Scout Patrol Box
a.We may use the service day at CDC to have a 1 day camp where Scouts will work on
i.Use of CampStove, Lantern, cooking utensils
ii.How to clean items in the Patrol Box
iii.Demo/practice basic cooking skills (pancakes, biscuits, eggs, bacon)
3.Send selected menus to all scouts
a.Patrol Quatermaster: Can the selected menu be e-mailed to those who have computers, so they can plan for any individual needs?
b.A more detail check of the plan menu and the details for grocery purchases
i.amounts, brands, selection, what else is needed
ii.It maybe necessary to have closer adult supervision, specially for less experienced scouts
4.Implement a new system for paying for food in advance
a.All outing will have a standard charge for food
i.$15 for 3 days or $10 for 2 days
b.The charge is collected with the fee for the activity.
c.The scout purchasing the food turn in the total and per scout bill to the Troop Treasurer and the remaining money or charge goes against his scout account.
i.+ If the boys save money, their scout account will grow
ii.+ Charge per food becomes a standard amount.
iii.+ The payment to the family purchasing is quick, no more 2-4 weeks waiting to get the money back
iv.– The treasurer will have to track the charges in/out of the scout accounts
1.if there is a negative balance, the scout and/or parent will be notified
v.Troop guests (Webelos/parents) should be paid from troop funds.
5.In order to insure that the issues raised in item 3 are adequately addressed, one adult from the Adult Patrol should supervise the different patrol cooking operation during the camp, just as an observer.
Food News
Dear Parents and Troop Committee Members:
Early in the year, some parents and Troop Committee members discussed some issues related to menu selection, cost and preparation for scouting activities. After some discussion, the following areas were identified as areas that could be improved.
1.Menu selection and preparation by the scouts
2.Cooking and preparation of the food
3.Distribution of the food during the activity
4.Total cost of the food per camping outing
A team of Troop Committee members (Jean Reece, Tish Kashdan and Humberto Collazo) compiled a series of proposals, suggestions and changes to further improve the quality and cost of the food selection of the Scouts during camping activities. Here are some of the suggestions and how they were implemented:
1.The April Cooking theme was used to reinforce some of the issues and solutions.
a.First Week (Cooking Safety and Economics)
i.Each scout will make a 3 day menu written/typed to the meeting
ii.Present their menus in their patrol and talk about food preference conflicts
iii.Make Scouts more aware of food allergies and how this may limit the menu selection
b.Second Week (Food Preferences and Food Nutrition)
i.Take their menu and find the cost. Then look at the high, medium and low price for its menu. Report the prices and discuss how this makes a difference
1.Brand vs generic, large vs right size,
c.If all present member do their home work, they should be credited toward their Patrol of the month totals
2.Assigned the Troop Guide to orient new scouts (maybe some 2year scouts too!) on menu preparation and the use of the Scout Patrol Box
a.We used the service day at CDC to have a 1 day camp where Scouts worked on
i.Use of CampStove, Lantern, cooking utensils
ii.How to clean items in the Patrol Box
iii.Demo/practice basic cooking skills (pancakes, biscuits, eggs, bacon)
3.Have a more detailed check of the plan menu and the details for grocery purchases
a.Try to get one adult from the Adult Patrol to supervise the different patrol cooking operation during the camp, just as an observer.
i.It maybe necessary to have closer adult supervision, specially for less experienced scouts
b.Have the Scouts check amounts, brands, selection for all the items in their menu
4.Implement a new system for paying for food in advance
a.All outing will have a standard charge for food
i.$15 for 3 days or $10 for 2 days
b.The charge is collected with the fee for the activity.
c.The scout purchasing the food turn in the total and per scout bill to the Troop Treasurer and the remaining money or charge goes against his scout account.
+ If the boys save money, their scout account will grow
+ Charge per food becomes a standard amount.
+ The payment to the family purchasing is quick (1 week) , no more 2-4 weeks waiting to get the money back
– The treasurer will track the charges in/out of the scout accounts
if there is a negative balance, the scout and/or parent will be notified
Guidelines
1. All scout are responsible for their food bill. If the Scout sign for an activity and does not go, he will still pay for the food
purchased for him
2. Scout purchasing food will be responsible for filling the appropriate form for reimbursement.
3. Troop guests will be paid from troop funds.