Our goal is to care for all of our boys, making sure they are healthy and safe. We provide nutritious, well-balanced meals that kids love. We are also well-equipped to manage food allergies with separate food preparation facilities for those who require it. Additionally, we present a variety of options so that even the pickiest of eaters can enjoy their meals.
Health Care
Brant Lake Camp maintains its own beautiful pine-paneled and recently remodeled Health Center on campus with two separate examination rooms, a medicine dispensary, private overnight rooms and two ward/play rooms. Each room is equipped with a television and gaming to help the hours pass by more pleasantly. The Health Center also has its own kitchen and a private, enclosed outdoor dining area. Brant Lake Camp is also only a short distance from two other medical centers in our local communities and a major hospital as well as specialists in Glens Falls. EMT support is stationed locally and BLC has its own full time EMT personnel on campus.
Our health center is regularly staffed with two or more doctors and a rotation of ~10 nurses who oversee the medical needs of our campers throughout the entire summer, including those with special problems such as allergies, chronic health issues and those requiring regular medication. In addition, BLC’s year-around Medical Director, pediatrician Beth Bernstein, M.D., Ph.d., has a home on Brant Lake and is on-campus daily and on call all summer. Our Medical Director reviews our camper health information prior to each summer and is familiar with all the campers’ medical records.
If a boy is confined to the Health Center for more than 24 hours, or is receiving care for a special problem, the health center staff will always consult with his parents about his status and care. We readily seek the assistance of the boy’s personal physician or one of the many fine specialists in our area with parental coordination.
Our staff also understands that children away from home with a health problem often need a dose of extra “tender loving care”—and they always go the extra distance to make sure that all is right.
Dining & Food
At Brant Lake Camp, our goal is to provide good, nutritious and well-balanced meals that kids love. And from what we hear from our food surveys, we’re doing a pretty good job.
Our Chef Abu has been with us for over 30 years and is a favorite—making sure that all our campers are well taken care of. We have fresh fruit available at every meal, a salad bar, vegetarian and pasta alternatives, fresh baked breads, cakes and cookies—and a whole lot more.
We maintain a PEANUT and TREE NUT FREE policy throughout camp. Special diets and allergies are closely monitored by our camp nutritionist, Jodi Greebel.
Jodi is a registered dietitian nutritionist specializing in Pediatric Nutrition and is the founder of Citrition, private nutrition counseling practice and Green Grown Meals, healthy lunch delivery service for nursery and elementary schools. She co-authored a cookbook and has appeared on Good Morning America, the CW morning news, radio stations across the country such as Radio Disney and CNN International as well as publications such as The Daily News, The Chicago Tribune, Parenting and Parents.
We serve most meals in our two newly-remodeled, pine-paneled dining rooms located in center campus. Our lower dining room is for our Junior and Inter campers, who eat at separate sittings and are served buffet style. Our upper dining room, with its new outdoor eating porch, is for our Senior campers. In both dining areas, we recently added a new audio system so music adds to the fun at meals—with most everyone joining in on the singing and even dancing. We also have many outdoor meal occasions which the kids really enjoy including our all-camp BBQ’s and our Sunday cookouts at the lake. Our 5-year party and final Banquet (on the last night of camp) are also among our very special events.
Allergies
Brant Lake Camp is highly equipped and prepared to care for campers with special dietary needs, particularly those with food allergies, sensitivities and/or intolerances, in addition to vegetarian and vegan diets. In support of this growing need, we have a second professional chef, under the direction of Jodi Greebel, who is dedicated to preparing meals and snacks for those with special food needs. Importantly, we have a separate cooking and preparation area in the kitchen, as well as a dedicated serving window, to help ensure that food is not exposed to allergen contamination.
We maintain a PEANUT and TREE NUT FREE policy throughout our camp
This means we do not serve or offer any nuts or products that contain nuts or nut oil as an ingredient. This includes pistachios, almonds, pecans, and coconuts, among others.
Furthermore, no peanut or tree nut products are permitted to be brought into camp or provided as gifts/treats during the summer. Products that contain nuts, or are produced on machinery/facilities that also process food, and/or candy which contains nuts, are also not offered or permitted. We review food labels on a regular basis and will not serve food products where peanuts, tree nuts or sesame are noted. We also do not serve any shellfish.
Please be aware that while we maintain a very strict policy concerning the above items, take precautions to prevent contact with these allergens, and are vigilant in our efforts, we cannot guarantee that campers with allergies will not come into contact with these foods while at camp. This is due to the fact that nuts and sesame are not always obvious ingredients in foods, are not always clearly labeled, or that someone visiting camp may bring them in inadvertently.
Families with campers who have allergies are requested to review their particular case with us, complete the necessary dietary and health record forms. In addition, after reviewing these forms, Jodi Greebel will reach out to parents to set up an individualized plan of action for their child’s summer. Brant Lake Camp, as part of its ongoing education efforts, will work with its staff as well as other campers and parents to make them aware of the risks involved with allergens and ensure that they adhere to our strict policy at all times, including the monitoring of all campers during out-of-camp trips.
Other food allergies and food related health issues are readily dealt with on an individual case basis including gluten sensitivity and lactose intolerance. Brant Lake Camp regularly stocks rice milk, Silk soy milk, as well as whole, 1%, fat free milk and 1% chocolate milk and will stock Lactaid milk as needed. Lactaid tablets are also available and can be given at meals and snack time.
Epi pens, in addition to being available in the Health Center, are kept in our dining room, all bunk areas, the waterfront, center campus/office and Arts & Crafts. Epi pen training is also conducted for many Key Staff throughout camp and for kitchen personnel.
Special Diets
While “picky” eaters present problems for most food service operations, we do provide options at each meal and address specific camper needs on an individual basis before the start of the summer. For example, there is always pasta available (plain or with a sauce), as well as vegetarian options at both lunch and dinner. Additionally, a sandwich making table with a variety of cold cuts and breads is always offered as an alternative at lunch, and a full salad bar is available at both lunch and dinner which includes a variety of mixed greens, tomatoes, cottage cheese, tuna, fruit and pasta salad, etc.
Certain accommodations can be made for boys on special or restricted diets involving the storing and serving of some special food items for their use only.
References are available from BLC parents of special dietary needs campers.