Food

Food is provided for camping crews while on projects, but is not provided for in-town crews. If you are on a camping crew SECC will provide the food but it can be helpful to pack personal favorites and treats, here is some advice on how to shop and pack for hitch. 

​Each crew will cook for themselves, using a chore chart to determine who's turn it is to make dinner, breakfast, to set up the lunch-making-station. 

What Will I Eat?

How and what you eat on hitch will make a huge difference as to the experience you have.  If you don’t eat well, or don’t have enough to eat, you will be unable to function at your best. Consuming adequate food and water is a requirement of this job. While SECC provides crews with food, it is up to the crew itself to be creative and cook tasty/healthy food while on hitch. 

​Quantity:
The main thing to realize is that you will probably eat A LOT MORE food on hitch than you normally eat.  Working at your mental and physical limits in the outdoors for 10 hours a day and camping out on top of that really takes it out of you, and you need to replenish your body. You should plan, at least at first, to consume roughly TWICE the amount of food on hitch as you eat when living in town and being sedentary.

What kinds of Food to Eat on Hitch/ In- the -field:
Lack of refrigeration, limited cooking methods, limited time for preparation and the need to transport all limit what foods are provided to you.

***Each crew will have one group cooler for cool item storage. Items that need refrigeration need to be limited as there is limited space. 
 
Foods that work well/ foods that are typically in the food bin for each hitch:
  • Durable Fresh Fruits and Vegetables, e.g., apples, citrus, carrots, potatoes, peppers (Fresh produce is a huge morale-booster. 
  • Cheese (pure protein that will easily last 8 days even without being kept in a cooler)
  • Bulk whole grains, e.g., brown rice, quinoa, rolled oats, pasta, etc. (quinoa has the highest protein content of any grain and cooks quickly—oatmeal with honey and butter makes an easy, filling and nutritious breakfast when paired with a protein source)
  • Tortillas (more durable than bread, especially when stored in a Frisbee)
  • Bagels (one contains as many carbs and calories as 5 slices of bread—also more durable than bread)
  • Trail Mix, salty snacks, crackers, granola bars (Side items / snack options for lunches)
  • Sandwich fixings (bread, lunch meat, cheese, PB, jelly, honey, mayo, mustard)
​
Ideas for personal treats/snacks: (things you might like to bring)
  • Dried fruit and Jerky
  •  Trail Mix (make your own mix of nuts, raisins, etc.  A great snack food and source of extra fat and calories.)
  • Chocolate
  • Drink powder (Gatorade)
 
Foods to Avoid Like the Plague:
  • Freeze-Dried packaged meals, e.g., “Backpacker’s Pantry”, “Mountain House”, etc. (these expensive, highly-processed foods contain few nutrients, can be hard to digest and are packed with salt, MSG and other artificial flavorings to try to disguise the fact that they are worthless goop in a pretty foil pouch)
  • Ramen noodles (high in saturated fat, high-density carbs, MSG (so that your taste buds think you are eating real food) and not much else) 

Packing Your Food

If you choose to bring personal snacks or have strict dietary preferences all of your food should be packed and ready to go before arriving at the shop to leave for hitch. There will may not be a chance to shop once you are with your crew. 

Tips:
- Remove all excess packaging before you arrive. This makes for less trash once on hitch and is the most efficient for packing as well. 
- Write the number of servings and directions on bag and pack multiple servings in one bag. 
- Try to buy food that does not get crushed easily (granola bars, jerky) 
- Pouches pack better than cans (Tuna, chicken, and salmon come in vacuum pouches that are easy to pack, affordable, and tasty)

Compost

SECC partners with New Terra Compost to help with disposal of food residuals and compostables. Each crew is provided with a compost bucket during their hitch where they will dispose of any food waste. These buckets are emptied into a compost bin located at the SECC office which then is picked up on a bi-weekly basis.  Visit the New Terra website to learn more about composting! 

The Do's and Don'ts of Composting

The Do's - Toss in:
  • Vegetables
  • Fruit
  • Meat
  • Fish
  • Grains
  • Paper products soiled with food
  • Bones
  • BPI Certified Products
  • TP and Paper Towel rolls
  • Flour
  • Bread
  • Leftovers
  • Candy
  • Coffee grounds
  • Coffee filters
  • Cereal
  • Paper towels/napkins (not used with chemicals or bodily liquids)
  • Pet hair
  • Aquarium Plants
  • Droppings/beddings from Birds and Hamsters
  • Shredded newspaper
  • Torn up pizza boxes
  • House plants or cut flowers
  • Cotton or lint from cotton clothing
  • Grass
  • Leaves
  • Sawdust from non-treated lumber
  • Soiled wax paper
  • Receipt paper
The Don'ts - Keep it out:
  • Plastic
  • Metal
  • Styrofoam
  • Aluminum
  • Glass
  • Gloves
  • Fecal matter from meat eating animals (dogs, cats, etc.)
  • Paper products soiled with cleaning chemicals
  • Oil
  • Non BPI Products
  • Rocks
  • Condiment packets
  • Electronics
  • Paint
  • Sawdust from treated lumber