How Swiss Camps Encourage Trying New Foods
Boost campers’ food confidence with communal meals, hands-on cooking, low-pressure tastings and inclusive menu planning.
Encouraging Campers to Try New Foods
We’re encouraging campers to try new foods through communal dining, hands-on cooking, and local food experiences. These approaches make unfamiliar dishes feel approachable and socially supported.
Staff Methods
Staff use low-pressure methods to reduce anxiety around tasting. Examples include:
- Small tasting portions so campers can try without commitment.
- Themed nights that make sampling fun and contextual.
- Farm visits that connect ingredients to place and process.
- Peer role models who demonstrate trying and enjoying new foods.
Education and Inclusion
We pair those methods with food education and inclusive menu planning to normalize tasting while respecting dietary needs and building food confidence.
Key Takeaways
- Communal meals and peer role models ease anxiety and boost willingness to try new foods.
- Hands-on cooking workshops and camper involvement in menu planning build familiarity and ownership.
- Small portions, tasting stations, and themed nights offer low-pressure chances to sample.
- Visits to local farms and ingredient-focused activities link food to culture and context.
- Inclusive practices and food education respect dietary needs and strengthen food confidence.
Sources
Appetite — Increasing children’s acceptance of vegetables through repeated exposure
Pediatrics — Development of eating behaviours among children and adolescents
World Health Organization — Healthy diet
Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office (FSVO/BLV) — Food safety
Bundesamt für Gesundheit (BAG) — Ernährung
