Some food for thought at the World Scout Jamboree

What’s for dinner at the World Scout Jamboree?

The options are limited only by a patrol’s imagination.

It’s one of the coolest things I’ve seen at this jamboree: Meal planning.

At most jamboree events, the patrol has a set menu for each dinner. The staff provides the ingredients, and the patrol cooks exactly that.

Here’s how it works at the World Scout Jamboree: Patrols get a certain number of points per day. They can use those points to buy grocery items at a large store near their camp.

They can find ideas in the official jamboree cookbook, which includes recipes from around the world. Or they can get creative and make anything they want.

It gets better. Healthier foods, such as fruit and vegetables, cost fewer points than junk food items—unlike at a real grocery store, I should point out.

I think it’s impressive that the World Scout Jamboree actually encourages Scouts to make healthy choices—for 10 days, at least. It also teaches Scouts about grocery shopping in a store that feels like one they’d see back home.

Sure, patrols could eat cinnamon rolls or chocolate cake every day, but they couldn’t afford much more than that. Great idea.


About Bryan Wendell 3282 Articles
Bryan Wendell, an Eagle Scout, is the founder of Bryan on Scouting and a contributing writer.