Scouting for Everyone: Scouting Safely with Food Allergies

A Parent’s Perspective –  Catherine Ann Brown, Troop 600 Committee Chair and Mom

“Mom, I want to join scouts.”  Seems like a simple request, but maybe not if your child has food allergies.  My son, Jeb, was in the seventh grade when I heard those words.  At first, I thought, “How in the world can we make this work?”  However, I didn’t want to deny him the opportunity.  As I considered the other hurdles we had already faced successfully like daycare, elementary school, birthday parties, and field trips, I knew that we had to at least give it a try.   

My younger son had recently joined the Cub Scout Pack that fed into the troop, so I was getting to know some of the parents and leaders involved. This also gave me the opportunity to go on a joint overnight outing with the pack and troop. That trip was a game-changer. I could see first-hand how all things food would be handled, and it gave me the perfect opportunity to ask questions. I am proud to say that Jeb is now an Eagle Scout and has rarely missed an outing. He attended summer camp every year, worked as a summer camp staffer, and has been on high-adventure treks. He is an amazing young man who has gained leadership skills, a spirit of servanthood, a call to action and responsibility in his citizenship, and has made life-long friends because of scouting. I am so glad that we gave scouting a try. Here are some tips that made the journey a little easier.

• Get to know the troop: Have your scout visit several troops.  Each one has its own personality.  You want them to feel comfortable and accepted from the beginning.  Having a few friends in the troop already is a plus.  They are aware of your scout’s food allergies from school or social gatherings.  As a parent, ask to go on an outing.  Watching not only how food is handled but being able to ask questions casually during the trip is invaluable.  You will understand the process and get a feel for the program. 
• Give guidance: Make a one-page document that includes the list of foods your scout is allergic to, types of reactions that may occur, how to administer medication, contact info for parents and some easy helpful hints/tips. I had created a letter to inform teachers about my son’s food allergies, so I adapted it for scouting and sent it to the Scoutmaster in advance of the first outing.  He shared it with the assistant scoutmasters so that all adults on the trip would understand Jeb’s allergies.
• Make connections: Get involved in the troop.  You will get to know the leaders and parents of your scout’s patrol.  These are the people who are helping their scout buy food or prepare food for a trip when assigned as grub master.  Exchange numbers and invite the parents to text you with questions.  Ideally, the scouts will do this themselves, but early on this adds another level of comfort for all parties.
• Be patient: Remember, you and your scout have been dealing with food allergies for a while (my son was diagnosed at 8 months of age), but this may be new to the other members of the patrol and the leaders.  Don’t think that you are repeating yourself or ever feel like you shouldn’t speak up.  There is a learning process for all involved.
• Be cautious (and, of course, prepared):  Remind your scout to always read labels.  Remind leaders that labels should be available. Our motto, “If you aren’t sure, don’t eat it.”  ALWAYS carry an EpiPen or other medication needed for life-saving treatment.  Make sure your scout and the leader each have this medication and know-how and when to use it.  Carry some backup food.  While trips are short, they are much less enjoyable when a scout is hungry.  Mishaps will sometimes happen so having a few extra items stored for your scout’s use is a must.

A Scout’s Perspective – Jeb Brown, Eagle Scout Troop 600

My name is Jeb Brown and I am an Eagle Scout with Troop 600 in Oak Ridge, NC.  What makes this an unusual accomplishment for me is that I have food allergies.  I wanted to share some lessons I learned on my scouting journey about how to make scouting safe for scouts with food allergies.  Here are three of the most important:

The most important part of scouting with food allergies is to communicate. I would always politely speak up when a meal idea wouldn’t work for me and I found it helpful to suggest potential alternatives that everyone could enjoy. Something I found helpful was always reminding grub masters of things to be careful about when planning menus, buying food, or preparing food. For instance, letting them know to make sure to buy mashed potatoes without butter already mixed in so that I could eat them. I found that once I communicated what I wanted clearly, most people were happy to help make sure things were safe. Something I found really important was always answering my patrol mate’s questions about my allergies. Once they understood, they not only engaged in safe practices, but they also became advocates for me and helped educate others about the importance of being food safe.

Another important part for me was being active in cooking.  When my patrol and I were younger and less comfortable with each other, being active in cooking was especially important. Not only did it help my own peace of mind to watch and make sure safe procedures were being followed, but it was also important for doing my part in patrol duties. One thing I quickly realized was that I couldn’t always help with cleaning because there were usually parts of the meal that might cause a reaction for me. But it’s still important to be a part of the patrol, and so I pitched in by cooking any part of the meal I could. A prime example of this was breakfast burritos. I would always help prepare and cook the peppers, onions, and sausage before taking out my portion for breakfast. Then the rest of my patrol would add eggs and finish cooking their portion. When it came time to clean, I would help clean the knife and the cutting board I used and help out with anything else I could while steering clear of surfaces used with the eggs.

A third important part of scouting safely with food allergies is to realize that it is okay to eat different food. There were occasions where I had to eat something different than the rest of my patrol. Maybe I would have mashed potatoes on a hiking trip while everyone else had mac and cheese. Or, I would bring my own desert to substitute while everyone else had cobbler. On trips when this happened, I came to realize that all of us eating the exact same thing wasn’t important. The important part was the community that came with eating together. 

Scouting with food allergies is very doable.  These are just a few of our tips and recommendations.  We know that each situation is unique and feel confident that if you are a potential or current scout with food allergies, that you can make it work, too! Hopefully, our experience has helped show that making scouting accessible to scouts with food allergies can be a positive experience for the scout, the parents, and the troop. Creating a culture of accessibility not only follows the scout oath and law but helps to foster a better scouting and world community.  We felt it was important to share this message, so “Get the word out!  Scouting is for everyone!”