Brant Lake Dance Camp utilizes the health facilities located on Brant Lake’s center campus. Our Health Center has separate examination rooms, a medicine dispensary, overnight rooms and a ward room. We are also only a short distance from two other professionally staffed health centers in our local/nearby communities and a major hospital in Glens Falls. EMT support is stationed locally and BLC has its own full time EMT personnel on campus. Our resident, on-campus health staff consists of a doctor and four nurses who support almost all the needs of our campers and staff on a 24 hour and 7 day-a-week basis. They also deal with special problems such as allergies, chronic health issues and those requiring regular medication. If someone is confined to the Health Center for more than 24 hours, or is receiving care for a special problem, the health staff will always consult with the camper’s parents. We readily seek the assistance of the camper’s personal physician or one of the many fine specialists in our area, with parental coordination. Our staff also understands that younger girls away from home with a health problem often need a dose of extra “tender loving care” and they always go the extra distance to make sure that all is right.
At Brant Lake Dance Camp, our goal is to provide good, nutritious and well-balanced meals that kids love. And– from what we hear as well as learn from our food surveys, we’re doing a pretty good job.
Our Chef Abu has been with us for over 20 years and is a favorite, making sure that all our campers are well taken care of.
We have fresh fruit available at every meal, a salad bar, vegetarian and pasta alternatives, a variety of breads, cakes and cookies and a whole lot more. Special diets and allergies are also closely monitored by our pantry manager who takes care of these personalized needs. Importantly, we maintain a “Peanut/Nut-Free” policy throughout camp. (Please see below for more information on this policy and Special Diets.)
We serve most of the Brant Lake Dance Camp’s meals (breakfasts and lunches) in our beautiful Adirondack style club house while dinners are usually served in the upstairs dining room on center campus. We also have a co-ed Sunday cookout at the lake each week with our older boys which is fun for all. Our Banquet at the end of the session is also one of our special events.
Below are some examples of our menu:
Breakfast
| At every breakfast we have: | Main Course includes: |
| Orange Juice/ lemonade | Pancakes (plain blueberry, banana) |
| Milk (skim, 1-2%, whole, rice, chocolate) | Scrambled/ fried eggs |
| Hot chocolate | Cheese/ plain omelets |
| Hot Cereal | Belgian waffles w/strawberry topping |
| Cold Cereal variety | French toast |
| Fresh fruit | Bagels and Cream Cheese |
| Yogurt (plain/ greek/ fruit) | Pastries and donuts |
Lunch
| At every lunch we have: | Main courses include: |
| Soup | Grilled Chicken Sandwiches |
| Salad bar | Pizza |
| Tuna salad/ Chicken salad | Tacos or Burritos |
| Pasta salad | Hamburgers and French fries |
| vegetarian alternative | Chef Salad |
| Sunflower seed Butter and Jelly | Philly Cheese Steak subs |
| Fresh fruit | Make your own Cold Cut Sandwiches |
| Yogurt (plain/ greek/ fruit) | Grilled Cheese |
| Ice cream/ices | Macaroni and cheese |
| Cookies | Hot Dogs & Chili |
Dinner
| At every dinner we have: | Main courses include: |
| Salad bar | Turkey with stuffing |
| Vegetables | Spaghetti & meatballs |
| Potatoes or rice | Grilled steak |
| Fresh fruit | BBQ chicken |
| Pasta Bar | International theme foods |
| Vegetarian alternative | Chinese, Mexican, Italian |
| Mediterranean stir fry | |
| Desserts | Baked Lasagna and Ziti |
Brant Lake Dance Camp is highly equipped and prepared in caring for campers with special dietary needs, particularly those with food allergies, sensitivities and/or intolerances in addition to vegetarian and vegan diets. In support of this growing need, we have a second, professional chef and Kitchen dedicated to preparing meals and snacks for those with special food and diet needs. Importantly, in addition to our separate cooking and preparation kitchen, we serve this food from a separate area to help ensure that food is not exposed to allergen contamination. In this way we can safely provide for those campers with food allergies, Celiac disease, gluten-free needs, among others.
We maintain a “PEANUT/TREE NUT – FREE” policy throughout our camp, which means we do not serve or offer any nuts or products that contain nuts or nut oil as an ingredient. No peanut or tree nut products are permitted in camp nor are they provided as gifts/treats during the summer. We review food labels on a regular basis. We also do not serve any shellfish.
Please be aware that while we maintain a very strict policy concerning the above items, take precautions to prevent contact with these allergens and are vigilant in our efforts, we cannot guarantee that campers with allergies will not come into contact with these foods while at camp
Families with campers who have food allergies are requested to review their particular case with our director of dining room and our special needs chef, complete the necessary dietary and health record forms and agree on a plan of action for the summer. All food allergies and food related health issues are readily dealt with on an individual case basis including gluten sensitivity and lactose intolerance.
Epi pens, in addition to being available in the Health Center, are kept in our dining room, all bunk & activity areas, the waterfront, center campus/office and Arts & Crafts. Epi pen training is also conducted for many key staff throughout camp and for kitchen personnel.
As part of our on-going education efforts, we work with our staff and campers to make them aware of the risks involved with allergens to ensure that they adhere to our strict policy at all times, including the monitoring of all during out-of-camp trips.