Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Food

What Foods Are Campers Begging Parents To Send To Camp?

Unlike most camps, the one I went to when I was a kid actually allowed parents to send food. So there was no need to smuggle anything in. I was perhaps a bit more spoiled than the typical camper: My mother would send up a huge package filled with nosh before me and my siblings even left for camp, so that when we arrived we’d have a box full of goodies waiting for us.

These packages made me quite popular amongst my fellow bunkmates. As my mom recently informed me, “I sent you cool packages so everyone would like you.” (Thanks mom!)

I never did ask my mother to send up treats. But that’s mostly because my camp had abnormally delicious food, a fantastic canteen (where, as my sister so kindly reminded me, I “racked up quite a bill.” She said, “You went over your balance so much you had to take out in my name”). And as a “prize” for keeping our bunk neat and tidy, we were able to go on regular trips to the local Walmart.

But I’m clearly the anomaly here, since most children do beg their parents to send up a steady supply of goodies. We did a poll on Twitter to see what readers’ children most commonly request be sent from home: 27% asked for candy, while only 9% asked for cookies and 9% asked for chips. The majority, coming in at 55%, chose “something else” — proving that campers today have highly diversified palates.

So, Dear Readers, we want to hear from you: What do your kids beg you to send from home? Is it your famous babka? A scone from a favorite bakery down the street? Is it a rack of ribs from Wolfgang Puck? Let us know in the comments or email us here.

Find Michelle Honig on Instagram and Twitter.

A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.