Courtesy of Josephine Schizer
BanksPhotos / Gettyimages
convention and summer programs, BBYO has a
dedicated area for special meals so that teens with
dietary restrictions can eat during meals.

Many Jewish summer camps are taking similar
steps toward inclusion. “We always tell families that
food should never be a reason that campers cannot
be at camp or participate in Jewish life,” said Rabbi
Ami Hersh, director of Ramah Day Camp in Nyack,
New York.

Around 10% of the 800 campers that attend each
session have food allergies, a larger percentage than
in past years. The camp has a dietary specialist who
works with each family to find alternative meals for
campers. It’s important that the alternative meals
closely mirror what the other campers are eating “so
that no one’s feeling left out or excluded based on
food needs,” Hersh said.

“I think that sometimes food needs and allergies
are misunderstood as something that people are just
being difficult about,” he said. “No one wakes up in the
morning and says, ‘I really wish I had a food allergy.’”
After noticing an increasing number of campers
with celiac disease, NJY Camps, an organization
that runs five Jewish summer camps in eastern
Pennsylvania, opened a dedicated gluten-free
kitchen in 2011.

Taking care of children with food allergies costs
US families more than $25 billion each year. When
parents have to provide food for their children, it can
be expensive and isolate the child even further. In
From left:
Josephine Schizer
at dinner with a
friend a study by Dalhousie Medical School, all 56 gluten-
free products tested were more expensive when
compared to their regular counterparts.

At NJY Camps, the camp charges the same for
the gluten-free meal plan as for the regular meal
plan. “We don’t charge families extra despite the
additional cost, it is simply a courtesy provided to
those who need it,” said Carrie Youngs, director
of Camp Nah-Jee-Wah, its camp for younger kids.

Within the last five years, they’ve had as few as 30
and as many as 60 gluten-free campers register for
each session.

The gluten-free kitchen has separate staff, equip-
ment and serving area to avoid cross-contamination.

Like Ramah Day Camp, NJY Camps try to make the
gluten-free meals match the regular meals being
served that day so that campers with dietary restric-
tions won’t feel left out.

“Because we’re a kosher camp, some allergies
are just a good fit,” she said. The camp doesn’t have
to make accommodations for allergies like shellfish
because shellfish aren’t kosher. Camp Nah-Jee-Wah
is also completely peanut free to accommodate
campers who have airborne peanut allergies.

Before arriving at camp, families can meet with an
allergy liaison who ensures that all of their needs are
met. “We just feel that accommodating campers and
giving them the most incredible camp experience is
important for their upbringing,” Youngs said.

Eating away from home can be scary for people
with food allergies, especially when those allergies
are life-threatening. “My house is the space where
I feel most comfortable when it comes to food,”
said Josephine Schizer, 21, a sophomore at Harvard
University. She’s allergic to eggs, dairy, sesame
seeds, chickpeas, kiwi, lentils and peas, but thanks
to her school’s Hillel, she’s been able to eat safely
while she’s away from home. She’s developed a
relationship with the Hillel’s dining hall staff and
made them aware of her food allergies. They’ll often
make special meals for her so that she’s able to eat.

Her allergies don’t usually make eating a problem
during Jewish holidays, but on Passover, a holiday
that imposes additional dietary restrictions, she
struggles to find nutritious meals because there
are fewer options. “Many of the options that I could
normally eat are out of the question during Passover
because of the holiday or have egg in them because
flour gets replaced with egg,” Schizer said. Nearly
everyone in her family has allergies, making it easier
for her to celebrate Jewish holidays at home.

“I think it’s harder when I’m in places that aren’t
my own home,” she said. “It’s harder, but it’s still
doable.” ■
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