Food
How to Feed an Expedition
We're going on an expedition, so what the heck are we going to be eating? Good question! Expedition eating is basically broken down into breakfast, lunch, dinner, and a constant supply of snacks. Every day, 3-4 students are on Cook Crew. They spend the day (the whole day) cooking hot meals for everyone in camp. Breakfast and dinner are the big meals - just about everyone (~50 people) is in camp, and everyone eats together. Most students are out in the field most days, and after breakfast everyone with field work will pack their own trail lunch and snacks.
Dietary Restrictions
We cannot accommodate anaphylactic nut allergies on JIRP. Though the JIRP kitchens are clean, we simply cannot guarantee that cooking surfaces and implements are free from contamination, and there is a LOT of peanut butter on the Icefield. We are occasionally able to accommodate other anaphylactic allergies, like shellfish, as long as you have been cleared by your doctor and the JIRP medical faculty. We can generally accommodate those with Celiac disease, as long as you are aware of the potential for contamination. If you have questions about whether your specific allergies can be accommodated, please contact our staff (office@juneauicefield.org).
We can accommodate the following dietary restrictions: vegetarians, vegans, lactose intolerance, gluten intolerance, and specific mild allergies (ex: onions, soy sauce, etc.). We promise participants with these restrictions that we will work with them to make sure they have a balanced, nutritious diet; we cannot promise, unfortunately, that it will be an exciting diet. Because of the limitations of the food at JIRP, many participants choose to relax voluntary dietary restrictions for the course of the summer.
What’s on the menu?
There is no shortage of food at JIRP, but the variety is limited by the constraints of working in the backcountry. Helicopters deliver food roughly every week, but fresh fruits and vegetables ("freshies") are limited, and we often run out of specific items between grocery deliveries.
If you are hungry throughout the day, there is a snack table in the cookshack that is available to all. Snacks include pilot bread (a dry cracker popular in Alaska, also known as hard tack), peanut butter, jam, trail mix, dried fruit, coffee, and hot water. The food might not seem that exciting, but most students leave JIRP with a fondness for pilot bread with their preferred toppings.
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BREAKFAST
Breakfast is often hashbrowns, oatmeal or pancakes, with add-your-own toppings: brown sugar, fruit jam, peanut butter, raisins, and honey.
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LUNCH
Trail lunch is usually an apple or an orange with make-your-own sandwiches or wraps: lunchmeats, cheddar cheese, hummus, lettuce, tomato, mustard/mayo, peanut butter, and fruit jam. Trail lunch also includes trail mix (peanuts, raisins, cashews, M&Ms mixed together) and a variety of granola bars.
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DINNER
Dinner is up to the cooks, and we encourage the cooks to be creative! They have a pantry full of ingredients to choose from: Beans, rice, baking ingredients, canned and fresh vegetables, canned chicken/roast beef/tuna/SPAM, spices, pastas, tomato sauces, potatoes, and a variety of other things.