Image by Incase/flickr

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.

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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.

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