September 2022 - Food Shopping for Scout Campouts.
Written by: Adam Riedel, Scoutmaster Troop 899
Our October campout is right around the corner. As I sit here preparing the programming for the weekend and the duty roster/meal plan/shopping list forms, it has occurred to me that we don’t give a lot of direction to our families on why we ask the Scouts to take turns shopping for their patrols. Let me address that now as well as share some other thoughts on why it is a good idea for Scouts to go shopping for their patrols.
First it is important to understand that getting new Scouts acclimated to our procedures is not going to be easy or quick. Just about the time we get our crossed over Scouts sorted out, we get the next group of Scouts ready to cross over. Add to that any new Scouts that we recruit through the year, and it is a constant influx of helping people learn the most important parts and sometimes the smaller parts get passed over. However, one of the most important things any Scout can do is volunteer to be the shopper for their patrol prior to a campout.
Wouldn’t it just be easier to allow one of the adult volunteers to do the shopping? The answer is, without question, yes! BUT, the adult volunteers aren’t here to “make this easy”. Troop 899 exists for the sole purpose of providing an exceptionally high-quality Scouting Program designed to teach boys how to be men through character development, leadership development, citizenship training, and personal fitness. We don’t do easy. We do RIGHT.
One of those steps is asking the Scouts to take turns shopping. Because of the size of our Troop, each Scout should only have to shop one time per year. Obviously, that may not be the case every time, but there are important lessons to be learned through this process: sharing the load makes it more manageable, everyone gets the same opportunity to contribute, it teaches budgeting and decision making, and teamwork.
So, what is the process, or how does it work? That is the simple part! During the Monday meeting prior to the campout, each patrol plans out their menu, creates a duty roster for each meal (which includes who will do the shopping), and then builds a shopping list. Sometime between the close of Monday’s meeting and arrival at the campout Friday night, the Scout and their parent should visit a grocery store to purchase the items on the list. The Troop provides coolers and ice for each patrol, so there is no need to purchase or bring those items to the campout, just bring the items with you to drop-off.
The shopping portion of this process is more than just picking up the items on the list. We hope that our parents will take the time to teach the Scout about picking the items that offer the best value, not just the first brand they see. Teach your Scout to compare prices, to pick the best option, to stay within the budget. This helps the Scout learn and accomplish both rank and merit badge requirements.
I do get asked often why a family can’t just shop online and just pick it up? I would discourage doing the shopping online for this purpose because of the lessons that can be learned in the grocery store. Things like patience, learning to deal with items being out of stock, being forced to decide between 20 different brands of the same item, respectfulness, taking ones turn, communicating with the cashier, etc.
Do you have to shop at a specific store? Of course not! We supply the Scouts a list of items on a sheet from our local Kroger because they are one of the easier stores to collect that information from and Kroger has a very user-friendly app that allows the Scouts to research prices while making their meal plan and stay within their budget.
The other question we get is, “I already paid for the campout, now I have to pay $50 more for the campout?” Yes and no. Yes, you paid for the campout, but each Scout is contributing towards the grocery cost. We will reimburse you for the out-of-pocket costs in one of two ways. We can write you a check for the cost of the groceries, or we can add the money to your Scout’s account to be used for later campouts, or other Troop related expenses.
I hope this short explanation has helped to take some of the fear away from this task for you and your Scout, but also encourage your Scout to step up and take on this responsibility and opportunity to serve their patrol. It is such a great and necessary learning experience for young people. It is important that we teach our young men these skills so that they can grow into self-sufficient citizens in the future. It is never too early to start reinforcing quality skills.
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