Meal Planning Procedures

The parent’s role

Your scout may be chosen as the Grubmaster for a campout. Parental advice, input, and transportation are important to your son's success as the Grubmaster. He will need your advice, guidance, and help to get to the store and prepare the food.  Remind your son to bring his shopping list and the menu planner. Know the number of boys to buy food for. Please help him sort through the quantities and help him buy the food. Parental advice about nutrition and price comparison at the store is important. Your advice, guidance, and help are needed!  Your son should shop the day before the campout. Please help him to maintain receipts for reimbursement.  Try to stay within the approximate budget of $15 per scout.

The meal planning procedure

Step 1 - Select a Grubmaster

The patrol should pick a scout to be Grubmaster to lead the menu planning session. Scouts should take turns being the Grubmaster.

Step 2 - Make sure you have a copy of the three meal planning forms 

Step 3 - List the names of the scouts attending the campout

This is very important! You must know who is attending the campout so that you buy only as much food as you will need. Buying too much food will cost the troop extra money and is wasteful. Buying too little will make the patrol go hungry. Get a firm answer from every Scout who is present. Don’t accept “I don’t know” or "I’m not sure” as an answer. Tell them you need to know right now, yes or no. Ask them to call their parents if they are not able to give you an answer. The ASM assigned to your patrol can help you with this. 

Step 4 - List the meals you will cook and server

There is room for 5 meals for a typical Friday to Sunday campout. You may not need to plan all 5 meals if the length of the campout is shorter. Make sure you know which meals to plan. Ask the adult leaders if you are unsure.

Here are some rules to follow:

Step 5 - Get your Menu Planner approved

Having the signatures indicate that the meals are relatively easy to prepare, won't break the bank, and are nutritiously balanced. This is a learning process. Don't be surprised if you are asked to re-plan a meal.  

Step 6 - Fill out your Shopping List

Look at each meal and write down the items you will need to purchase at the store. Try not to miss any ingredients or your meals won’t be complete or won’t taste good. 

Step 7 - Fill out your Duty Roster

Fill out the Duty Roster to make sure all jobs will get done. Everyone in the patrol must do his share. 

Step 8 - Check the readiness of your Patrol Box

Ask the Quartermaster to to tell you if the patrol box is ready for the campout. If there is something missing make sure the Quartermaster gets it taken care of before the campout. Ask the ASM to help if necessary.

Step 9 - Go shopping the night before the campout

Take the Menu Planner and Shopping List to the store and buy everything you need to cook the meals. You should go shopping a day before leaving for the campout. Your parent will have to help you with this process. Before the end of your shopping trip, check everything over and make sure you have everything you need. Don't forget ice for the cooler. Save your receipts. Place them in an envelope labeled with your name and patrol. The food budget is approximately $15.00 per Scout.

Step 10 - Refrigerate the food when you get home from shopping

Some food must be kept refrigerated when you get home such as milk, eggs, cheese, yogurt, meat, butter, and other food that say “Refrigerate after opening”. Be sure to put these in your parent's refrigerator when you get home from shopping. 

Step 11 - Pack the food on the day that you are leaving for the campout

Pack the food using the cooler and plastic bin provided to you. The plastic bin is used for the dry food. The dry food can be placed in the plastic bin as soon as you get home from shopping. The cooler is used to keep the refrigerated food cold. Put the ice in the cooler and then the place the food on top of the ice.

Step 12 - Prepare to leave for the campout

Make sure you have the cooler filled with the ice and refrigerated food, the plastic bin (with lid) containing all the dry ingredients, and all your completed forms.