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One Crying Food Allergy Child Changed Everything at This Camp!

6/26/2016

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It all started with a little boy crying. When it comes to summer camp, a child crying is never a good sign.

​The boy’s name was Miles. His older brothers had been coming to camp for a couple years, and next year he would be old enough to come to. When Camp Director Jason Sebell asked him what was wrong, Miles said that even though he would be old enough next year, he still wouldn’t be able to come to summer camp, because he had a severe peanut allergy. Even being close by when other campers opened a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, or enjoyed a peanut butter cookie could kill him.


That started Camps Kenwood and Evergreen on a mission. As Jason said “why would we not make a small accommodation so that a child can participate.”

This all happened about 12 years ago and started a revolution at the camp. While they may think what they are doing is small, they now can give a safe and fun environment to children with a wide range of food allergies. When they first got started with the changes they were one of the few nut free camps in the North East. Then their arts and crafts director was diagnosed as Celiac, so they became the only gluten free summer camp.
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Now, they have one Chef in the kitchen whose sole job it is to prepare food for all the children with food allergies. No packaged food comes in from outside the camp, and they focus on creating healthy, allergy safe meals for all the campers. As much as possible they follow the farm to table method, providing an abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables.
No detail of the camping experience is overlooked, with safe snacks for movie night, and even on the trail when completing wilderness exploration. In the entire time they have been catering to the needs of food allergic kids, they have not had to use an EpiPen, or had an anaphylactic reaction – a testament to the effectiveness of their approach.
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They have a camp wide commitment to continual improvement and communication. As the food allergy world changes and evolves, so does the camp. Never settling for “good enough,” they review their food allergy policies each year and make sure every single staff member is trained to know how to provide a safe environment for food allergic children.
But don’t worry, this is not a boring camp that also happens to be a food allergy friendly camp. The brother and sister camps have a water slide, arts and crafts, team sports, water activities, rock climbing and a ropes course, special activities, and more. This is a camp where a kid can really let loose and enjoy being a child  without fear. As Jason says, “you are more than your allergy.” You can find out more about this New Hampshire camp on their website.
This is part of a series of posts featuring food allergy friendly summer camp opportunities. If you have a camp we should know about, please share in the comments below!
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Self Defense: The ultimate weapon vs food allergies (Guest blog from Ari Savitsky)

4/19/2016

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As a lifelong allergy sufferer it seems like I’ve been carrying an epipen around since I was two years old. As a college student I realize I’ve been quite fortunate in that throughout all my lower school years I never had a serious anaphylactic reaction. Not that there wasn’t my share of very close calls, like the care package that my uncle sent to camp which accidentally contained all the wrong items. But in terms of the trauma of a full blown reaction, I’ve been thankfully spared.
The reason for that success is of course some element of luck, but it is also due to the vigilant oversight of my parents and the way in which they would make sure I was in a food allergy safe environment. Sending in proper snacks, letting our friends know in advance of my allergies and meeting with my teachers  to be sure they knew were just some of the ways they tried to make sure I was protected. It wasn’t until this year though that I realized the greatest weapon they gave me in my daily defense against a serious food allergy reaction was, in fact, myself.

I was spending a gap year abroad and as I said before, I always had an epi-pen on me ever since I was two. I felt safe but somehow I was coming up short and kept having allergy issues.  Three or four times during that first month I had some type of reaction. That feeling of a tight throat, itchy skin and/or puffy eyes created a real sense of uncertainty for me that I would be able to navigate this properly. I had done everything right , I thought.

At the pizza store, even after asking the required questions, I started to eat only to feel that tightness in my throat which made me know something was wrong.  At the sushi restaurant with my friends , I asked about my allergy and when they weren’t sure about the knives they used, I wisely ordered a sprite. Yet somehow, I was still having a reaction, even though I was never an “airborne” food allergy person. So after seeing a few doctors we realized that the issue was cross contamination. It wasn’t the pizza but rather the tray I touched and then rubbed my eyes with. At the sushi place, it was the table that I touched and then put to my skin that caused my trouble not the air itself. With that knowledge I was now able to reassess my environment and have a great year going forward, although it did require some extra effort.


Going through all this made me realize that aside from years of protecting me, it was the way my parents educated and encouraged me that made me self sufficient. It was the way they would tell me that a certain food was good or bad and then show me the keywords to look for so that I could be prepared in case of a mistake. It was the way they encouraged me to ask any waiter, teacher or parent if a particular item was food allergy safe just so I learnt how to advocate for myself and feel confident in doing so without fear or shame of being looked at. It was the time they didn’t get mad when I accidentally injected myself in my finger with the epi-pen at a young age because they knew I was just making  sure I could take care of myself if need be. In the end it will be what you teach your kids to do for themselves that will stay with them and protect them long after they’ve left home.
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If you’re on this site, you’re already on the right track. Keep at it and best of luck !!
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