Four weeks after my son was diagnosed with Celiac Disease and we began a strict gluten-free diet, he started summer day camp. He was five years old, rode the bus to camp each morning, and stayed all day. Most meals were simple because we packed them, but the camp’s special food days — “Pizza Wednesdays,” “Cookout Fridays,” and occasional s’mores — meant we suddenly had to navigate working with camp staff to ensure he could eat safely.
The first few weeks went well until one day the camp called to tell me he had been given a hamburger on a regular, gluten-containing bun. There was a stunned silence on the phone.
Background
In the weeks before and after my son’s endoscopy, my husband, my mom, and I devoured everything we could find about Celiac Disease and a gluten-free lifestyle. This was May 2010, when “Celiac Disease” and “gluten-free” were not yet common terms. I hunted down gluten-free products at local markets and online, trying nearly everything available so I could understand options and ingredients.
I share that so you understand how intensely organized and prepared I am about these things. When it came time to discuss my son’s diet with camp staff, I arrived armed with information and a plan.
The camp was amazing — accommodating and prepared
The camp couldn’t have been kinder or more cooperative. They already ordered gluten-free pizza for another child and agreed to order a separate gluten-free pizza for my son on Pizza Wednesdays. They were willing to speak with the pizza vendor, and they used clean cutters and separate handling to avoid cross-contact, which put my mind at ease. I didn’t want him to feel excluded.
For s’mores, I provided a labeled box of gluten-free graham crackers that was set aside for him. The camp used gluten-free chocolate and marshmallows, and one counselor handled only his s’mores to avoid cross-contamination.
On Cookout Fridays, I left a bag of gluten-free buns to be kept separate and used only for my son. The staff’s careful handling and communication made me feel confident leaving him in their care. The camp director became a true ally for this new Celiac mom.
Everything was perfect until…
My son loved camp. He came home exhausted and full of stories about the day and the special foods he enjoyed.
Then one Friday I received that call. Any parent knows that when a school or camp number appears midday, your stomach drops — it rarely brings good news. The director told me my son was fine but had been accidentally given a burger on a regular bun.
The mistake itself was innocent. My son had been served a burger on his designated gluten-free bun, ate it, and later a counselor saw he was finished and asked if he wanted another. He did, and the counselor — with good intentions — brought him a second burger on a regular bun.
At five years old and only six weeks into a gluten-free diet, he didn’t recognize the difference and took a bite. Today he can detect gluten instantly and would refuse, but then he didn’t have that awareness.
When he returned home we watched him closely for hours. Initially there were no immediate symptoms — no stomach ache or headache. Since he was newly on the diet and had been mostly asymptomatic before, that wasn’t entirely surprising. A few days later he developed canker sores, which became his telltale sign of being “glutened,” but otherwise he was fine.
The camp was deeply apologetic and implemented a stricter protocol right away to prevent a repeat. From this incident we learned an important lesson that we carried forward into school and future camps.
We discovered the value of designating a single contact person at camp who would be responsible for any food requests or changes. That simplifies communication and reduces confusion: my son knows who to ask for more or different food, I have one staff member to educate and train on gluten-free practices and cross-contact prevention, and the camp has a clear chain of responsibility. This approach has made outings and special food days much safer for him.
Have you sent a child with Celiac Disease to camp? Has your child ever been accidentally given gluten at camp? I’d love to hear your experiences. Leave a comment below.
Coming soon: how we managed feeding our son at sleep-away camp for five years without a single gluten exposure.