A Gutsy Endeavor for the Specific Carbohydrate Diet

What would summer be for kids without going to a camp of some kind? Summer camp is a place to learn new skills, meet new friends, enjoy a variety of recreational activities, and develop your identity. Childhood is a delicate time in your life learning how to be a person in the world. When you are a kid with a medical condition, going away to a summer camp has its own set of challenges. Fortunately, there are solutions out there! Specialized camps of all types present many great opportunities for kids to be kids and feel like they are in a community with others experiencing their same challenges.

Over a decade ago, the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation (CCFA) established Camp Oasis as a fun place for learning, playing, and healing. Camp Oasis operates in 12 locations across the United States each summer to provide a unique environment for schoolaged kids diagnosed with Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, IBS, IBD, and celiac disease. Kids receive personalized medical care throughout the week from a team of volunteer physicians, nurses, and other healthcare professionals. The attentive staff ensures all the children feel loved, important, and can build confidence and independence by connecting with other kids and adults who have similar medical conditions.

Camp Oasis 2019 was the 4th year for Honest to Goodness Personal Chef Services to serve the CCFA – Northwest Chapter’s weeklong event. It was the 2nd year in which I lived and worked onsite at camp to prepare breakfast, lunch, dinner, and two snack periods each day. For the two years prior, my company produced the food offsite in a commercial kitchen and made three rounds of catering deliveries throughout the week to a YMCA camp location an hour and a half outside of Seattle. After learning great lessons those first years getting familiarwith the diet and the logistics of executing this scale of event, my client agreed it was necessary to have a dedicated chef onsite. Out of approximately 140 campers, counselors, and medical support staff, I was responsible for 32 tummies requiring the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD) as part of their medical therapy.

SCD is used to treat a variety of GI disorders. The SCD eliminates grains and other starchy foods containing complex carbohydrates such as potatoes. On this diet, simple carbohydrates that require less time in the digestive system are consumed to restore health, and reduce inflammation, in the gut and the entire body. The premise of the SCD is to eliminate gut dysbiosis, which is a disturbance of the microbial community in the digestive system, that takes place when good bacteria are destroyed, and bad bacteria take over.

Honest to Goodness got this business opportunity through a personal contact I made with a friend in my university’s alumni chapter in Seattle. She approached me in 2015 to ask if this type of event is something my company would consider doing. Did we have the dietary knowledge? Did we have the bandwidth for our team to do what it would take to accomplish the scope of Camp Oasis, while also maintaining our regular business volume? There is nothing like a good challenge to help you grow, learn new skills, and realize of what you are truly capable. I said yes, Honest to Goodness Personal Chef Services could participate in Camp Oasis to make a positive difference for these kids’ health.

Over the last four years, I have spent countless hours researching recipes online through various blog sites, Crohn’s forums, and the book Breaking the Vicious Cycle: Intestinal Health Through Diet by Elaine Gottschall, B.A., M.Sc. Since its development in 1951, the SCD has been used to treat millions of people with various intestinal ailments. Much research has been conducted over the last several decades to identify how this type of diet interacts on a biochemical level with the digestive tract to minimize or even eliminate symptoms.

My shopping list to produce 17 meal periods for this group entails 150 pounds of assorted proteins, 100 pounds each fresh fruit and vegetables, 45 dozen eggs, 30 pounds of almond flour, and 15 pounds of SCD-legal cheeses, amongst a myriad of other assorted approved ingredients. Each week of camp entails about 200 hours of service time before and during the event. I focus each of these hours to ensure an amazing and tasty summer camp experience for a wonderful group of kids who look forward to each breakfast, lunch, and dinner. This year in particular, I felt such a sense of love from all of the kids who would shout my name with respect during every meal.

My experiences with Camp Oasis and SCD have taught me so much. Reading ingredient labels has gone to a whole new level to verify which preservatives are allowed and which are not. SCD is a very clean diet without any processed foods. However, it is very time-consuming for the typical household to make everything from scratch for one or two people in the house whilst preparing other non- SCD foods for everyone else. I chose to be a personal chef so that I could help people and support their health goals with my skills and love for cooking. Within the Northwest CCFA community, I have become known as the SCD chef. Families have hired me outside of camp week to teach them how to cook SCD. I have spoken at a local conference from a food professional’s perspective and consulted with physicians at the acclaimed Seattle Children’s Hospital who are conducting research studies.

Despite the many hours of prep before camp and demanding days while at camp, there is no place else I want to be during the last week of June. I have gotten to know my SCD kids each by name, provide short-order solutions when one might not be feeling well, and sing around the campfire with them. It has been such a rewarding experience to prepare amazing food for awesome kids who truly need what you do. I look forward to Camp Oasis 2020!

Client Testimonial: “Once again, Cameron came home raving about the SCD food your provided. I cannot even begin to tell you how happy that makes my heart. Navigating social situations with food on a daily basis can be a challenge, so knowing he has food he not only likes, but raves about, brings tears to my eyes.” T.M. Vancouver, WA

Website Resources crohnscolitisfoundation.org/get-involved/camp-oasis

breakingtheviciouscycle.info/

comfybelly.com/category/scd-recipes/ againstallgrain.com/category/recipes/scd-recipes/