mom31257 Posted June 16, 2014 Share Posted June 16, 2014 We are going to be providing snack at a local camp for underprivileged children. The camp asks for individually wrapped snacks and said cookies, crackers, etc. are okay. Kroger has Keebler cookies on a really good sale ($.99 each), so we might purchase enough to give each child 2, but I'd love to put something healthy with it. We can package the stuff ourselves. Any ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aiden Posted June 16, 2014 Share Posted June 16, 2014 snack size boxes of raisins? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted June 16, 2014 Share Posted June 16, 2014 Can you put fruit in ziploc baggies? Like, grapes or apple slices? I'd do individual graham crackers or crackers and some real fruit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wintermom Posted June 16, 2014 Share Posted June 16, 2014 I'd go for the raisin boxes above cookies or crackers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingersmom Posted June 16, 2014 Share Posted June 16, 2014 Popcorn Chex mix (the stuff you make with sugar and other yummy things) Pretzels Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meadowlark Posted June 16, 2014 Share Posted June 16, 2014 Another vote for popcorn...cheap! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happi duck Posted June 16, 2014 Share Posted June 16, 2014 If it needs to be individual sealed packages: Applesauce cup or fruit cup (with a spoon) Cliff bars or similar (cliff bars makes mini ones) Eta: does the camp want individual servings for ease of distribution or because they have a policy of sealed packages? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ali in OR Posted June 16, 2014 Share Posted June 16, 2014 When our church used to do VBS we always had popcorn plus something else. When I was in charge of snacks we did popcorn, a fruit, and something else. Fruit gets expensive but it was very appreciated. Blueberries were in season so we did that a couple of days (put them in small cups). Around here we could go pick our own blueberries at a blueberry farm--grocery store berries would probably be prohibitively expensive. Watermelon slices were popular too. We always did popcorn in cups but ziploc bags would work too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairiewindmomma Posted June 16, 2014 Share Posted June 16, 2014 Does individually wrapped mean fully encased? It's easy to put ranch dressing in the bottom of a drink cup, and fill the cup with baby carrots. How filling are the meals at camp? I'd be looking for something to fill kids up so they won't go hungry....cheese and crackers or something heavier if the kids are over 8 years of age. In terms of cute but practical, there's always variations of this idea: http://www.pinterest.com/pin/547539267167884233/ Prepping for 170 takes time, though, so perhaps stuff that is easy to pre-purchase would be best if time is scarcer than money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justasque Posted June 16, 2014 Share Posted June 16, 2014 I wouldn't do cookies. I'd rather choose food that will nourish and fill. Can you do individual baggies of GORP? A mix of nuts, raisins, maybe baby pretzels, and if you are ok with it a teeny smattering of m&m's? That way the kids can eat the parts they like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aggieamy Posted June 16, 2014 Share Posted June 16, 2014 An apple? A banana? Already individually wrapped and healthy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justasque Posted June 16, 2014 Share Posted June 16, 2014 An apple? A banana? Already individually wrapped and healthy. Discount produce stores often have smaller fruit - small apples, small oranges, etc - which would be perfect for this. You might be able to arrange in advance to purchase in bulk. Ask around if you have friends in food service; they will know where to find such things at the best prices. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom31257 Posted June 16, 2014 Author Share Posted June 16, 2014 Since we can do the packaging ourselves, I assume it is for ease in distribution. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katilac Posted June 16, 2014 Share Posted June 16, 2014 I think grapes or apple slices alongside 2 cookies would be a great idea. It would be tough to get 170 bananas at the correct level of ripeness, lol, lots of kids don't like raisins, and I'd hesitate to do nuts with so many allergies out there. Baby carrots are good, too, but most kids I know eat them with a dip. I'd ask to speak to the produce manager at my grocery. If you let him know you will need a large quantity of fruit on such-and-such day, he might give you a good price! Especially if you are flexible and willing to take some apples, some grapes, whatever he has an abundance of. Cleaning, cutting, and packing into ziplocs can go pretty quickly if you set up an assembly line. If you slice apples yourself, remember to use Fruit Fresh or something. Another idea is breakfast cereal. Just about every kid I know loves to snack on dry cereal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairiewindmomma Posted June 16, 2014 Share Posted June 16, 2014 What about yogurt cups from costco? They work out to <$1 each. Or bean burritos? I know that sounds weird...but it's filling if the kids aren't getting enough to eat; paired with an apple or a clementine--if it's afternoon snack it could help not be hungry at supper time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom31257 Posted June 16, 2014 Author Share Posted June 16, 2014 The camp will be providing the drinks and all the other meals. These are overnight campers brought in from Atlanta and other areas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KungFuPanda Posted June 16, 2014 Share Posted June 16, 2014 Can you mix up some trail mix? We've done this for Girl Scouts. It goes quickly if you assembly line the process. We mixed pretzels, dried fruit, nuts, and m&ms. It's easy to customize if you need nut-free or grain-free bags for some kids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Excelsior! Academy Posted June 16, 2014 Share Posted June 16, 2014 Popsicles are hydrating. Gogurts or Dannon drinkable yogurt would be a good yogurt alternative. You could even freeze the Gogurts. Cheese sticks and an apple or grapes. Pudding cups. Fruit Jell-O or jigglers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
umsami Posted June 16, 2014 Share Posted June 16, 2014 99 cents for an individual pack of cookies sounds expensive to me. I think it would be much cheaper at Costco or Sam's Club. I would actually speak to the produce manager at Sam's or Kroger's and see if they'll give you a deal so you can provide fresh fruit as part of the snack. Heck, being in GA, can you get peaches? :) I would want to do something with more protein/staying power…so I like the ideas of GORP or something similar. This is a wonderful thing you're doing and I'm sure anything you do will be appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie G Posted June 16, 2014 Share Posted June 16, 2014 Are they ok with items that need refrigeration? We've done camps and theater programs with that many kids and we're asked to bring things individually wrapped for ease of distribution AND because any leftovers can be saved for the next day. Sometimes a kid can't have something due to an allergy so we rummage through the bin of snacks from earlier in the week and find something the kid can have. The programs we work with don't want anything that needs refrigeration or that needs utensils, even if we provide the spoons. They just don't want to deal with it. But maybe your camp is much more open to a variety of snacks. That's nice of you to provide enough for all 170 kids! We're usually asked to bring enough for 60 or so, and have several people sign up each day to cover the number needed and to eliminate any worry of a parent forgetting the day's snack. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom31257 Posted June 16, 2014 Author Share Posted June 16, 2014 These are the bags of Keebler cookies which have about 20 full size cookies each. We would take the cookies and repackage them to a couple per child. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom31257 Posted June 16, 2014 Author Share Posted June 16, 2014 We won't have to worry about things sitting for awhile because we are going to be taking the snacks to the camp at snack time and pass them out as a family. They want us to interact with the kids while we do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie G Posted June 16, 2014 Share Posted June 16, 2014 We won't have to worry about things sitting for awhile because we are going to be taking the snacks to the camp at snack time and pass them out as a family. They want us to interact with the kids while we do it. That sounds like a great family service activity! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom31257 Posted June 16, 2014 Author Share Posted June 16, 2014 Yes, we've been trying to find some kind of ministry we can do together. We'll see how it goes and will hopefully volunteer for other dates. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gaillardia Posted June 16, 2014 Share Posted June 16, 2014 We used bulk ingredients for trail mix bags: mini pretzels, m&m's, peanuts, raisins, chex cereal, other dehydrated fruits, and whatever else that would hold up well and mix well with the other ingredients. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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