Here is a quick FAQ about Grubmasters:

Q:  Why do we have the Scouts be GM's?
A:  The simplest response is that it's a learning experience.  This isn't supposed to be the GM's parents just buying the food and telling the GM what they bought, it's supposed to be the Scout going to the store with a menu already made up and buying the ingredients needed.  The parent is just along to front the money to pay for the food which the Scout will collect later from the members of their patrol.

Q:  Why doesn't the Troop just buy all the food for all the Scouts?
A:  Are you volunteering to handle all of that for every campout? That's a LOT of food for a LOT of Scouts, which would be a LOT of work for one person, (or even a couple).

Q: How are GM's chosen?
A: There is a requirement for 2nd Class that each Scout must be a GM for one campout.  Other than that every Scout should take their turn at it. On the Monday before each campout the PL should figure out who needs to do it for rank advancement, and if no one does then who going on the campout hasn't done it in the longest time.

Q:  How much should the food cost? 
A:   For a typical Friday-Sun morning campout food should be around $12 per person.  For an extended campout (MLK or President's Day) it can go as high as $20 per person.  If the Scouts decide they would like to eat something fancy, (like say for a cooking competition), the price might go higher.

Q: Who decides the menu?
A:  At the Monday before a campout the Scouts will split out into Patrol Corners and figure out who is going to be the GM for that campout, and should at that time decide on a menu.  If for some reason that didn't happen then the Patrol Leader needs to contact his Scouts and find a GM.  If he can't find anyone who can do it then he is on the hook for getting it done himself.  If the menu wasn't decided in advance then the GM can decide on any menu they want.

Q:  How do you handle food allergies/restrictions?
A:  On Troopwebhost's calendar you can click on an event to see who is coming.  You can then click on the word "Patrol" to sort the list by patrols.  At the bottom of that list there will be a box labled "Print Participant List" that you can click on that will tell you everyone who is coming, (by patrol), and if they have any food allergies or other dietary restricts.  Note that this list is only as good as the information the parents put in, so if your Scout has either of these you had better list that in their TWH bio.

Q: When should the food be purchased?
A:  The GM should check TWH on the thursday before a campout to get the final list of who is coming from their patrol, (or combined patrol).  Please don't purchase too much before that because that list tends to be dynamic, (which is a polite word for too many people waiting till the very last moment to register for campouts).

Q: What do we do if our Scout's patrol is combined with a different one?
A:  If your Scout tells you they are GM for this weekend's campout, and they vaguely remember that they are combined with some other patrol, then you should have your Scout contact their PL and find out exactly which patrol it is.  Then you can find out on TWH which Scouts from both patrols are going.

Q:  How much food should be purchased?
A:   You know how much your Scout eats on a regular basis.  Now imagine the rest of their patrol eating a similar amount.  Now imagine how much they all eat when they have been running around playing games and being very active outside.  Now add a little more because Scouts are ALWAYS hungrier on campouts.  Also note that on winter campouts Scouts need more energy.

Q:  What do we do if our GM says they are having (whatever junk food) for all of their meals?
A:   While Scouting is youth run, and the Scouts can make their meal choices for themselves, parents are encouraged to offer some suggestions while the groceries are being purchased  Things like "maybe your patrol would like some grapes with lunch?" can be helpful if the Scouts didn't think to write a fruit on their menu for the weekend.  Grocery buying is a great opportunity to talk about good food choices, but in the end it is their choice.  Sometimes Scouts do make poor choices.

Q:  My Scout says there is a cooking competition this weekend, what does that mean?
A:  Now is a chance for your Scout to go out on a limb and try something fancy.  Push their comfort level with food and get them to try something they saw on the food channel.   Offer some creative suggestions and see how far they can take this.   We've had some fabulous meals done on cooking competitions in the past.  Also it might not hurt to make sure that they actually know how to cook  that food.

Q:  Should we buy the name brand or store brand?  Organic or not?
A:  The simple fact is the Scouts couldn't care less as long as there is enough food.  If you can buy enough name brand organic food for the Scouts in your patrol and have it come it at only $12 for a weekend then feel free.  Just don't purchase all of that and expect every family to shell out $25 because you like to eat organic.  That has happened before and then the majority of the other Scout's parents refused to pay $25 for a weekend's food.

Q:  Can we pre-make food?
A:  Absolutely.  Some meals work much better if the food is cooked at home, packaged, and then just warmed up on the campout.  Note that some of these foods will require special packaging to keep them safe.  We've have Scouts do BBQ ribs where the meat was done the day before we left and it turned out great!

Q:  Any other special packaging issues?
A:  Please, no glass jars or bottles.   We've had too many break in the trailer over the years.

Q:  Hot meals or cold meals?
A: Normally on a Sunday morning if we are returning at 10-11am the breakfasts will be cold, (as in no cooking).  If we are coming back on Sunday afternoon then we will cook breakfast.  Tent camping lunches tend to be cold simply because it's not worth starting a fire again just for lunch.  If we are cabin camping in the winter, (like at Ajawah), then something like soup is okay.  If we are coming back on a Monday afternoon then Monday's lunch will usually be cold.  Sometimes all of this changes though, so keep an eye out for any emails saying differently.

Q:  How should the food be packed?
A:  Perishable foods should normally be packed in a cooler with something to keep them cold.  That can be bags of ice, (which unfortunately melt and ruin a lot of stuff), or it can be a milk jug with water that was frozen solid.  If it's really hot out those little freezer pack things don't keep things cool enough over a long weekend, but will work fine on a cool weekend.  A gallon jug of ice frozen solid takes a long time to melt.  For food not in a cooler it should be bagged and labeled in some fashion that it is obvious which patrol it belongs too.  Much food has been eaten by Scouts in other patrols because there was no patrol name written on the grocery bag.

Q: What do you do if it's February and we are going to Duluth and it's 10 below zero?
A:  This is tough.  You can't pack the perishables without anything to keep them cool just because eventually it will be out in the -10 weather for 3 hours.  You can't let perishables warm up and then freeze.  Sometimes we can put a cooler in a chaperone's vehicle which will keep it from freezing, but that isn't always possible.  If you know it's going to be that cold, (which you should if you didn't buy food too early), then try to buy food that freezing won't hurt.  On a short trip to someplace like Ajawah just don't put it in the cooler until right before you leave for Home Depot, and then hopefully it shouldn't be a problem.

Q: Who is responsible for this food on the campout?
A: The GM should work with the PL to get the food cooked. Sometimes the GM might not know exactly how to cook the food that was chosen. In this case it's a good idea when your Scout is the GM to make sure they know exactly how to cook said food. If they are cooking lasagna it might not hurt to go over exactly how to cook it as you are helping them buy the groceries. 

Q:  How do we collect the money that is owed for the food?
A:   Food money should be collected on the Friday night in the Home Depot Parking lot.  All parents of Scouts going on the campout should come prepared with enough cash to pay for their Scout's share of the food.  To make that easier to happen the GM can go into TWH and send an email to their patrol telling them how much food will be.  That way the Scouts can bring exactly that much money.  If for some reason the Scouts didn't bring cash on Friday then their parents should absolutely make sure they bring that money when they come to pick up their Scout.

Q:  Who should be handling this money?
A:  In Scouting we are all about the learning experiences.  This is a prime opportunity to teach your Scouts all about the joys of Accounts Receivable.  If your Scout has money in the bank, (or piggy bank), take out THEIR money, and pay for the food with that.  Then leave it up to them to collect the money from the other Scouts.  Make sure that they know that if they don't collect this money it's their money that they are losing, not yours.   You will find that suddenly the Scouts care MUCH more about trying to collect that money.  Many parents will write off $12 from one Scout as not being worth the hassle tracking down to collect, but to their GM that $12 is worth a lot more.

Q:  What do we do if a Scout doesn't come on the campout?
A:  If a Scout is registered on TWH as coming on that campout on Thursday, then they are responsible for their share of the food costs, whether they go on that campout or not.  If they are not on the campout then obviously they won't be in the parking lot to pay, but they should make sure that they bring it to the next Monday night meeting.  If your Scout unexpectedly misses a campout, then please don't make the GM jump through a lot of hoops to collect the money that you owe.  

Q:  What do we do if a Scout never pays?
A:  Hopefully this won't be an issue too often.  Parents of Scouts going should make sure that they have the cash needed to pay for food on Friday, or at worst Sunday.  If your Scout didn't attend the campout they were registered for then bring it on the following Monday.  Too often parents of GM's end up not collecting money because it's too hard to track some people down to collect it.  This is unfortunate because for some Troop 33 families they can't afford to not collect $40 in food money from the Scouts in their GM's patrol.  Please don't be that parent that causes other parents to not let their Scouts be GMs.

Q: My GM says a Scout told them they are going, but they aren't listed on TWH?
A:  It would be a good idea to confirm that with the Scout in question.   Contact information for all Scouts and their parents is listed on TWH where parents can easily access it.  

Q:  What do you do with left over food?
A:  For starters PLEASE don't leave it in the trailer for it to rot and stink!  (I'm not even joking about that).  Depending on how much food is left over, and what it is, then usually it's just split up in the parking lot between the members of the patrol who are standing there.  Sometimes if the GM bought WAY too much food then their family can take it home and they can refund a portion of the money to the rest of the Scouts.  Be aware that that doesn't happen very often. Also note that if a food is seriously perishable, (meat, milk, etc), then it's often better to throw it away when you get home. On a hot weekend it's VERY hard to keep food properly cooled all the way through Sunday noon. This is another reason to not pack foods in the cooler till right before you leave on Friday to take your Scout to Home Depot.

To wrap this all up the job of Grubmaster is supposed to be a chance to learn many life lessons.  Too many parents just view this as a chore that they are stuck with without thinking about what lessons their Scout is learning.  If your Scout is the GM for their patrol please take some time to talk about some of the things listed above and help us try to teach them these lessons.

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