Our Food

WALDEN FOOD IS AMAZING!

At Walden we take great pride both in the beauty of our dining hall and the food that we serve.  Meal times at Walden are so much more than the chance to eat; three times each day the entire camp comes together in one place to sit with their respective “camp families” and enjoy a meal together.  It is an opportunity to talk about the day, see siblings and cousins from other cabins, and join in the spirit of cheers and songs.

We serve upwards of 700 people at each meal, so you can imagine that it is quite a production!  Our chefs and kitchen staff use wholesome ingredients to carefully prepare and assemble wonderful meals.  Our food philosophy (only people who love food have a food philosophy!) is to enjoy classic camp meals and treats from time to time (grilled cheese, French fries, chicken burgers, chips, and chocolate bars), but to spend most of our efforts figuring out ways to provide meals that are both kid-friendly and nutritious.  We have experimented and succeeded with a number of new menu items in recent years!  Our very own Walden chef has a funny saying, “Bring me a sample and I will make it for you!”  This has led to such favourites as homemade matzo balls in the chicken soup, “Bubbie’s brisket” (Sol’s mom’s recipe!), and fresh challah on Friday nights.

We feel that we offer an array of top quality foods, and that our meals are varied and balanced.  We serve our meals family-style, with the food on platters to be passed around the table.  This style of serving promotes a feeling of community around mealtime, and also allows campers to choose what they want to eat…maybe try a little bit of something new…and take more if they enjoy it!

Some things to know about the food at Walden:

• Oatmeal, yogurt, fruit, cold cereal, and hard-boiled eggs are available everyday at breakfast IN ADDITION to whatever the main meal is
• Every day at lunch (except on BBQ days) we offer a beautiful salad bar with unlimited quantities of fresh ingredients, including: lettuce, shredded carrot, baby tomatoes, wedged tomatoes, quartered eggs, chick peas, cottage cheese, red pepper, cucumbers, mandarin oranges, water chestnuts, sliced beans, black olives, feta cheese, red onion, sunflower seeds, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and an assortment of other dressings
• Amazing homemade soups are set out at every lunch and dinner (vegetarian when the meal served is meat, and never with MSG)
• Each day we serve one “sweet” dessert (often freshly baked in the Walden kitchen!), and one fruit dessert
• There are 3 outdoor BBQs per week, each serving up a different variety of meat, sides, and vegetarian options
• We are prepared to accommodate any special dietary needs, including (but not limited to) foods that are vegetarian, gluten-free, lactose-free, or Kosher

Please know that Camp Walden is a Nut-Aware camp, and does not serve any food containing peanut products.  For more information on what this means and how we maintain camp as a safe space for campers with allergies, click here.

Our Menu is always being updated and changes even after the summer begins!  But here is a snapshot of how our menu looks now!