Camp Stevens Food Philosophy
At
Camp Stevens we take great care to prepare delicious and nutritious meals for
our guests and resident staff, carrying our respect for our Earth from the garden
into the kitchen and onto the table. We prefer to sit down together, family
style in order to celebrate the bounty and to promote a community atmosphere.
A significant
part of our environmental stewardship revolves around the camp kitchen. The
types of food we serve, how they are prepared, stored and the re-use of waste
products all affect the health of our bodies and our planet.
Our aim
is to provide excellent alternatives to the typical processed camp style meals
and to continue to satisfy all appetites, from the summer camper to the sophisticated
palate.
- We seek
to support the most sustainable food production methods by using organic products
(free from harmful pesticides, fertilizers, preservatives and additives and
non-genetically modified).
- We do
our best to prepare your meals using healthy cooking methods to preserve the
nutritive value of the food. The majority of our meals are prepared by scratch,
using quality products. We keep the fat, sugar and sodium content low and
utilize organic whole grains, milled flours, herbs and spices.
- Our
dairy products are mostly organic, and the eggs are from free- range hens.
- The free-range
poultry we serve and are raised without the use of hormones and antibiotics.
- We choose
to not serve beef and pork due to the tremendous resources required to produce
a relatively small amount of protein, plus the effect the raising of such
livestock has on our environment. For more information, please refer to our
"Our Daily Bread" sheet.
- Our own
garden produces fresh organic fruits and vegetables and herbs, and we purchase
locally grown produce when available.
- The coffees
and teas we offer are shade grown, organic, and fair trade contracted and
proceeds from coffee profits go to supporting homeless shelters in Los Angeles.
- We purchase
products in bulk to minimize excessive packaging. We avoid non-recyclable
materials, and we vigilantly recycle all cardboard, glass, metal, plastics,
aluminum and tin containers.
- A great
deal of thought goes into planning meals to minimize waste by preparing the
correct amounts and utilizing excess food safely and creatively. We use quality
peelings and trimmings to make vegetable stocks for soups and sauces.
- We compost
plate scrapings and kitchen scraps, which in turn becomes our garden’s nutrient
rich soil, which grows our wonderful vegetables, fruits and herbs.