How to Plan Food for a School Camp: A Complete Guide for Teachers

Before a single menu decision is made, the most important step is to pin down accurate numbers: total student count, total staff count, age group of students, and the number of meals you need to provide across the camp. A typical 3-day, 2-night school camp involves 8 meal services per student (breakfast x2, lunch x3, dinner x2, plus a recess and supper). That number changes everything — including pricing, prep time, and whether your venue kitchen can cope.

Always ask each parent or guardian to confirm dietary requirements in writing during the camp consent stage. A surprise nut allergy on day one of camp is the worst time to find out.

The big five categories you will almost always need to cater for are gluten-free, vegan, vegetarian, dairy-free and nut-free. Beyond that, you may have students with halal requirements, egg allergies, soy allergies, FODMAP sensitivities or specific medical diets.

A good catering partner will design every meal to be naturally inclusive — meaning the same dish, with minor swaps, works for everyone. This avoids the "special meal" problem where students with allergies get something noticeably worse than the rest of the group.

Camp kitchens vary wildly. Some have full commercial setups with combi ovens and walk-in cool rooms; others have a domestic stove, two ovens and a single fridge. Confirm with your venue: oven count, hob burners, fridge and freezer space, hot water capacity, and whether commercial dishwashing is available.

This information dictates what kinds of meals you can realistically serve. A pasta bake for 80 students requires either multiple ovens or a chef who can rotate trays through a single oven across an hour. Plan accordingly.

A reasonable per-student per-day food budget for a Victorian school camp sits between $25–$45 depending on the menu, dietary complexity and venue logistics. That includes ingredients, packaging, delivery and dietary management — but not labour for cooking on-site, which is usually covered by parent helpers or staff.

If your budget is tight, prioritise meals that scale well: hearty pasta bakes, rice-based dishes, and one-pot meals are far more cost-effective than individual plated dishes.

There are three main models for camp food: (1) self-catering, where parent helpers shop and cook; (2) supply-and-support, where a caterer like Chef Skills Catering pre-portions and delivers food with recipe cards for on-site staff to cook; and (3) full chef service, where the caterer sends a chef to cook on-site.

For most school camps, the supply-and-support model is the sweet spot — significantly less work than self-catering, but less expensive than a full chef. Recipe cards make it possible for any adult to confidently put out a hot meal.

Quality caterers book up. Aim to confirm your camp food at least 4–6 weeks before the camp date. For peak terms (especially Term 4 in Victoria) and large groups, 8–12 weeks is safer.

Once booked, share the venue address, kitchen photos and the dietary spreadsheet as early as possible. The earlier this lands with the caterer, the better the menu will be.