Our kitchen does not knowingly use peanuts in snacks or meals prepared on site. We serve soy butter at all meals instead of peanut butter. While we do our best, we cannot guarantee that our facility is 100% free of peanut products. We ask that you help us maintain the lowest level of possible contamination by following our rule about not bringing additional food with you to camp; our kitchen will keep you well fed and our facility is safest for everyone when we control which products are on camp.

We are able to provide substitute meals and snacks prepared without nuts for other nut allergies. While we minimize nuts on camp by not serving them alone, we do use nut products in our kitchen. We cannot guarantee that our facility will be entirely nut free.

We are fortunate to have a separate celiac-only kitchen at Bearskin, and we work with the kitchens at our other camp locations to ensure they can provide safe gluten-free food. While we do our best, we are not able to guarantee a 100% gluten-free environment.

We will have vegetarian options at every meal.

• Children and teens hide high numbers, falsify the numbers, or avoid testing all together in order to keep from being judged.
• Children and teens identify themselves with their numbers (i.e. “I am a bad person when I have high numbers”).
• Children and teens have secret lives unknown to their parents and physicians (i.e. hiding not only their numbers but eating when not observed).
• Depression is more common in children, adolescents, and adults with diabetes.
• Opportunities to learn how to adjust insulin for changes in eating patterns and exercise are missed.
• Blood sugars tend to be higher than they otherwise could be.

• Refrain from using judgmental language or actions when blood sugars are discussed (i.e. “your blood sugar is 450, how much insulin do you think you need?” Instead of “your blood sugar is 450!! What did you eat?”)
• Do not react punitively when extra food is found in the camper’s possession but rather work with the camper to adjust insulin for extra food.
• Recognize that it is impossible to have normal blood sugars all of the time once out of the honeymoon period.

Blood sugar numbers are nothing more than data with which to make decisions regarding insulin adjustment.

• Your child’s blood sugar levels may run lower or higher during their stay at camp than you may see at home. While they and their blood sugars are carefully monitored, variables such as altitude, new activities, new routine, length of stay, excitement, and so on, will affect your child’s blood sugar levels. Please know that camp works diligently to fine tune your child’s diabetes control during their stay, but it is not always possible to have the same level of control that they may have at home. To address any diabetes concerns prior to camp, please give us a call.

• Campers will be under the care of our highly qualified and trained staff. These staff include counselors and program staff (more than 70% have type 1 diabetes themselves), dietitians, certified diabetes educators, nurses, endocrinologists, and general practice physicians. At every meal and at nighttime snack, each camper meets one on one with their nurse to adjust insulin doses. The nurses report to the lead medical staff on duty, who then report to our Medical Director.

Aside from formal education, participants continually chat with staff and each other about living with type 1. Campers share tricks of the trade, experiences, and knowledge that enrich each other’s lives and they know that they are not alone. It is very common for a child with diabetes to have a “first” at camp such as giving their own shot, trying a new pump site, or counting their own carbs. We celebrate and encourage these “firsts” at all programs.