Feeding groups on trips

These suggestions mostly come from my wife Margo, who became a specialist of feeding groups of 20-30 on week long trips.

• Get a list of food allergies and preferences early. Determine if there are any vegetarians in the group.
  
  • For both the allergic and the vegetarians, determine the level of concern (e.g. can a peanut person be in the same room with peanut butter, can the vegetarian accept a broth).
    
• Make it clear that you can't and won't even try to please everyone. However, no one will go hungry unless they choose to do so.
  
• Outside of medical requirements, go with majorities. If only one person wants whole milk, don't buy whole milk (even if that one person is you or your child!).
  
• Buy plentifully for the first day and then assess the group's eating habits. It is hard to know in advance or just by looking at a group if they are big eaters or light eaters (some little girls can pack away an amazing amount of food), picky or ravenous. You can also get a feel for this by watching how much they eat on the ride to the destination.
  
• Stay with basic “kid” food, and avoid less universal foods. At home each of them will get a variety of more exotic foods, but no two families have the same exotic foods and therefore stay with the “least common denominator.”