Food, Health, & Wellness at Camp Nor’wester
Meals at Camp
Most meals are eaten in the Lodge as a full community with all units in attendance. Each unit is assigned 2-3 tables and that is where your unit will sit. At least twice a week we have ‘Scramble-Amble’. At that meal you can seat at any table in the lodge! It’s a great time to visit with friends or siblings in other units.
One person at each table is the Jumper for that meal. It’s their job to come early to the meal, set the table, and serve food as it comes out of the kitchen. This allows us to eat family style while minimizing traffic in and out of the kitchen doors. Don’t worry, Jumpers have plenty of time to eat too.
After eating, dishes are cleared and brought back to the kitchen and the table is wiped down. Then, out come the songbooks! We sing after lunch and dinner every day – a great community bonding time. New campers learn the songs very quickly and soon everyone is belting out “The Mermaid” or “Piney Wood Hills”. Our music staff choose 3-5 songs for each meal so we get to sing most every song in the songbook at least once or twice each session.
Nutrition & Dietary Needs
We’re very proud of the food our kitchen provides to us. We have a lot of variety, and most everything we eat is made from scratch. We encourage everyone to try a little bit of everything on the table and we’re confident you’ll find something you like, but if you don’t, we will have bread, peanut butter and jelly available as an alternative. Favorites include “Killer Mac”, hoagie sandwiches and vegetarian chili. If you get hungry between meals the kitchen puts out a variety of fruit that you can swing by and grab on your way to an activity.
It is our intention to meet all the needs of our campers – we regularly serve vegetarian, vegan, dairy-free and gluten-free options if the main meal doesn’t meet those needs. We encourage parent/guardians of campers with special dietary needs to contact us in the spring to be sure we have a plan to nourish them well. We want everyone to enjoy eating at camp, but it is part of the experience to try something new – you never know what you might like if you don’t try!
Our menus are intended to provide a balanced plate, but remain friendly and approachable to our wide range of ages and tastes. At least one vegetable side is served with every lunch and dinner, usually along with salad. We strive to use as many fresh ingredients as possible, and continue to explore ways to source our food more locally. Sometimes garden produce ends up in the kitchen – lettuce for salads, potatoes with eggs for breakfast, or maybe strawberries in a cobbler for dessert!
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Coming soon, a sample menu that can give you an idea of some of the meals served at Camp Nor’wester.
Health Care at Camp
Although we hope campers never have to visit the Health Center for an injury or illness, we are proud to have a great facility and care team at camp. We hire a qualified medical staff, including as least one RN (or higher certification) and an assistant, available 24 hours a day. They can take care of colds, scrapes, bruises, tummy aches, and more.
All staff working at camp are required to have basic First Aid and CPR training for the summer, and many staff have advanced knowledge such as Wilderness First Aid, so most scrapes and cuts can be addressed by the camper’s Unit Leaders while out and about. However, staff are trained to bring campers to the Health Center for anything requiring care beyond basic First Aid, and our Nursing team is ready to help with any medical situation that may arise.
All visits to the Health Center are logged so it’s easy to reference a previous visit and add notes to update the care plan. We have a number of campers and staff who come with their own medications, and our health center staff make sure everyone receives their meds on time, mainly after a meal in the lodge. All medications should come to camp pre-packaged, separated for each daily dose – typically your pharmacy can do this.
Health Care at Camp
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Our health care team will treat campers for minor cuts, scrapes, or injuries, as well as things like colds or upset stomachs. They will also provide initial care and monitoring of potentially emergent situations.
If the provider determines additional medical care is needed, a transportation plan will be devised based on availability of staff chaperones, time of day, weather conditions and seriousness of the illness/injury. Generally, at least one staff will accompany campers to the hospital in Friday Harbor, which has 24-hour emergency room facilities.
We have great relationships with local emergency services including San Juan EMS and Airflight, should their expertise be required. Non-emergent situations that require outside medical attention will be scheduled for the earliest appointment possible at the Hospital Clinic.
Camp will contact the family of any camper receiving medical care outside of camp, as well as any camper who spends the night in the Health Center. If your child is injured or becomes ill while on a trip away from camp, our health care staff will contact you and put you in touch with the staff member(s) at the scene as early as possible, given the situation.
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Camp Nor’wester abides by an immunization policy that is in line with all school and childcare immunization guidelines, based upon the recommendations of the Washington State Department of Health. We require campers and staff to be FULLY immunized before camp begins. Campers and staff with medical exceptions will be allowed at camp with documentation from their physician. Personal exemptions will not be accepted.
Required Vaccinations* for all Campers and Staff Members
● Measles, Mumps, Rubella (MMR)
● Tetanus, Diphtheria, Pertussis (Tdap)
*Exceptions to the immunization policy will only be granted where the camper’s health care practitioner determines that a medical exemption is necessary to maintain the camper’s health. Medical exceptions are subject to the review and acceptance of the Camp Nor’wester Health Team, and will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
Additional Vaccinations for compliance with the State Department of Health*
● Chickenpox (Varicella)
● Hepatitis A
● Hepatitis B
● Pneumococcal disease
● Polio (Poliomyelitis)
*Non-adherence to these vaccinations due to medical reasons must be given to us in writing. The risk of attending camp unimmunized may result in early departure or restrictions in programming opportunities.
Covid-19 Vaccine
COVID-19 vaccinations and current boosters for COVID-19 are highly encouraged for campers and staff but will not be required for participation this summer.
We especially request that hired staff and volunteers have current COVID-19 vaccination and up to date boosters. Staff well-being has a major impact on Camp operations and the camper experience as a whole, and in the spirit of Community Care and aiming for a strong and healthy community overall, we recognize that staff health is one of the most influential factors.
As we look ahead to the future, these policies may shift, and we want to emphasize that this is a living document and will be adapted at the discretion of the medical advisory team and the Directors.
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As we look ahead to the future, we are working with our COVID Management Group to determine what policies will be in place for Summer 2025 as we balance a quality camp experience with the care required to keep a community of youth and staff healthy on a remote island.
As it stands, these may shift, and we want to emphasize that this is a living document and will be adapted at the discretion of the medical advisory team and the Directors.
Covid-19 Vaccine
COVID-19 vaccinations and current boosters for COVID-19 are highly encouraged for campers and staff but will not be required for participation this summer.
We especially request that hired staff and volunteers have current COVID-19 vaccination and up to date boosters. Staff well-being has a major impact on Camp operations and the camper experience as a whole, and in the spirit of Community Care and aiming for a strong and healthy community overall, we recognize that staff health is one of the most influential factors.
Questions about Meals, Dietary, or Health Needs?
Reach our to our Executive Director:
Meaghan Baumgartner
meaghan@norwester.org
