Keeping Camp Kitchens Kosher - Preparing a Plan

 Over 1,000 meals are served daily in the average Jewish summer camp. For two months, breakfast, lunch and supper are cooked, baked and doled out for campers, staff and their families. The menu includes milchigs, fleishigs and pareve. “Even the busiest restaurant or caterer rarely faces an operation as complex as running a summer camp,” says Rabbi Sholom Chaim Tendler of Star-K. “The sheer volume of food, with changes from a dairy breakfast to a meat supper, is daunting. Keeping the foods and equipment separate in the limited confines of a camp kitchen is extremely difficult. “Although the chef is experienced and mindful of the need to be vigilant, the kitchen staff are often untrained local non-Jews. They may be unfamiliar with or indifferent to the laws of kashrus. Think about it this way — even if the worker has picked up Yiddish and seems knowledgeable, it’s not reasonable to expect him to have the same respect for kashrus as we do. They rationalize, especially under stress. Even the young Jewish teenagers who assist in the kitchen may be less than ideal to safeguard the integrity of the operation. They are not trained to understand commercial kitchens; you cannot expect better from them, and if you do, you are fooling yourself. “Kosher certification has come a long way over the past few decades. The many certifying organizations work hand in hand to raise the level of oversight for kosher consumers,” adds Rabbi Moshe Kaufman of KVH Kosher of Boston. “In our never ending quest to promote the highest level of kashrus, we realized that the kitchens of many Jewish summer camps were neglected. Our committee set out to encourage greater supervision of these sites; all this is done l’shem Shamayim, totally free of charge.” 14 15 22 Sivan 5785 June 18, 2025 Rabbi Moshe Kaufman inspecting the ovens to ensure bishul Yisrael and Shabbos compliance at Camp Ma’ayan Midwest. Discerning the Concern “A few years ago, as I prepared to send my daughter to sleepaway camp for the first time, there was some chatter on a group chat of kashrus professionals. Someone brought up the question of the kashrus in the camp kitchens,” Rabbi Kaufman begins. “We were surprised that no one in the group knew anything about it. We realized that this area was completely overlooked.” Rabbi Sholem Yehudah Fishbane, Director of Kashrus for the Chicago Rabbinical Council (cRc) and Executive Director of Association of Kashrus Organizations (AKO) asked Rabbi Kaufman and Rabbi Tendler if they would chair a committee of kashrus professionals dedicated to improving this matter. “Initially, we had no idea what would happen, as this was an uncharted field,” Rabbi Kaufman says. “At the onset, many mashgichim volunteered their time and expertise to this project, but in a practical sense, it was not always workable. The devoted mashgichim are spread over the country, while Jewish camps are concentrated in the Catskills, upstate New York in the Albany area, and the Poconos in Pennsylvania with a few in the Midwest. We soon came to realize that despite their good intentions, not all the volunteers were suitable. In addition, we determined that special skills were needed. A mashgiach who only had experience supervising factories was insufficient. This initiative required experience in the field of food service, meaning supervision of caterers, restaurants or stores with the bustle of chefs, waiters and the like. Rabbi Sholem Yehudah Fishbane of the AKO. Checkup Without the Check committee helps the camp develop one. “We do not approve or disapprove of any camp’s ingredients or policies. We make recommendations how to set up the kitchen in regard to milchigs, fleishigs and Shabbos. In addition, there must be a system of checking deliveries to make sure that the foods received are the ones that were ordered,” Rabbi Kaufman explains. “All too often, a supplier runs short of an item and substitutes another item for it. Buying from a heimishe distributor does not guarantee that every item in his stock is acceptable. Many such distributors carry nonkosher items as well. Mistakes happen, and there must be a system of oversight. We know of cases when treife chicken, nonkosher cheese and treife sauces were mistakenly delivered to frum camps and unfortunately used. In other cases, liquid eggs were ordered, and the item that arrived contained non-chalav Yisrael milk derivatives. Other times, the forbidden items were unchecked vegetables or Israeli produce with issues related to Shemittah, terumos or maasros. All too often, the camp owner, head counselor, chef and kitchen manager all look at each other, expecting someone else to take responsibility. In the meantime, no one is doing so. So, it is vital that someone be designated to supervise intake.” “Today, we have five active members. Rabbi Fishbane of AKO monitors our activities. We began by reaching out to camp directors with whom we had a personal connection and offering to check out their kitchens for free. We then sent letters to all camp directors, informing them of the availability of our service. The response was 100% positive. However, it was already past Pesach, and the camp directors were extremely busy preparing to open their facilities; scheduling inspections proved difficult. As a result, our f irst season was limited to half a dozen visits. Later we presented at The Association of Jewish Camp Operators (AJCO) Camp Expo & Conference in the Meadowlands. The project snowballed each subsequent year, with a lot of camps reaching out to us.” 16 “Our service is free not only ostensibly. Unlike those deals that offer a free item but add a shipping-and-handling fee or some hook to get you to pay for other items, we have no hidden agenda. Our only goal is to improve the kashrus of the hundreds of thousands of meals served each summer,” Rabbi Tendler states. “There is no hook to get the camp to sign a hashgachah contract with us. We do not even want to give hashgachos to the camps. We are only interested in reviewing the operation and offering suggestions on how to improve it from the standpoints of kashrus and shemiras Shabbos.” “Members of the committee invest their own time, money and energy to provide this service. There is absolutely no funding solicited,” Rabbi Kaufman adds. “At times, our own vaadim, who have a vested interest in improving the level of kashrus in Klal Yisrael, will cover the costs, but the rest of the expenses come out of our dedicated mashgichim’s pockets. In addition, they receive no prestige for what they do, as there is no gathering where they get publicity on stage.” Preparing a Plan The goal of the committee is not to offer certification but rather to ensure that each camp has a kashrus plan in place, including someone charged with overseeing that it is properly implemented. In the absence of such a plan, the June 18, 2025 “In many cases, we felt that no one was manning the ship... A teacher called me from a camp. She erroneously believed the camp was under our hashgachah.” Rabbi Moshe Kaufman, Kashrus Administrator, KVH Kashrus. While some camps may be resistant to hiring a mashgiach, Rabbi Kaufman suggests that often there are people on grounds who can take responsibility. “A staff member may have a spouse learning on grounds who can take achrayus for certain aspects. He might be able to check invoices to verify that what you are getting is what you asked for. In high-end restaurants, someone verifies that the restaurant received exactly what was ordered. In camps as well, everything must be checked before it is accepted for use.” As the committee’s work commenced, they developed a formalized online inspection form, which was designed to cover all areas of the kitchen. “Problems that pop up are quite surprising, Rabbi Fishbane relates. “In many cases, we felt that no one was manning the ship. As an example, a teacher called me from a camp where her school was holding a Shabbaton. She erroneously believed the camp was under our hashgachah. It was owned by a 22 Sivan 5785 17 Kashering a pizza oven at a camp. frum person, but she had been met at the kitchen by the gentile caretaker. He handed her the key to the kitchen and told her, ‘I can’t open the kitchen, so here’s the key. You must open up, but give it right back to me.’ He showed her around the kitchen. When she asked, ‘Who is the mashgiach?’ the answer she got was, ‘You are!’ “I called the camp director and asked, ‘What’s the plan?’ A system in which you tell the gentile that he can’t open the kitchen, but he has the keys is not a plan!” Rabbi Sholom Chaim Tendler detailing exactly what must be done each day,” Rabbi Tendler explained. “This includes lighting the pilot lights and the fires on the stoves and f iring up the ovens. We customize the list for each location.” Mix-ups and Math “This is the most widespread issue we come across,” Rabbi Kaufman chimes in. “Anecdotally, in many camps a non-Jewish caretaker has access to the kitchen. At some of these camps, even if they are set up well during the season, there is hefkeirus during the off season. Because of this issue, one camp kashers their entire kitchen before each season. But that’s an anomaly.” “One of the most important suggestions we make to camps is to have a checklist of the staff’s daily routines, “When we do certification inspections, we likewise have a checklist. Afterwards, there is an inspection report to record that each step was carried out. When I visited one sight, I forgot to download the inspection list. When I arrived, there was no internet service, so I went through it by heart. As I was leaving the camp, I realized that I had left out two things, and I had to return to check them out,” Rabbi Kaufman recalls. “This shows the importance of the lists and reports even for an experienced mashgiach and certainly for untrained kitchen help.” Properly marked kitchen equipment. “Another common problem we encounter is that the milchige and fleishige equipment are mixed up or not marked properly,” says Rabbi Fishbane. “Often the people responsible for storing the serving spoons and pitchers are teenagers, and sometimes they do not exercise the proper care.” “At one site, the milchige and fleishige preparation areas were in pretty good shape. But the only spot where they could place the milchige oven was on the fleishige side,” Rabbi Tendler recounts. “Of course, they were careful not to mix up the ovens. But this was inviting problems, as pans could be removed from the oven and placed on the fleishige counter.” “A common refrain is, ‘I control my kitchen at home very well. I know what I’m doing,’” Rabbi Fishbane 18 relates. “But at home, you are not preparing hundreds of meals. The problem is the math, not the intent. Often, frum owners and chefs consider it an affront that we are looking over their shoulders. We have to be sensitive to this, yet we must also convey the importance of the system.” “Another thing we often hear is, ‘We don’t make mistakes,’” Rabbi Kaufman puts in. “But I would compare a camp kitchen to a Pesach hotel. Would you say, ‘We have a frum chef, we don’t need mashgichim?’” At times, the chef or kitchen manager may be unaware of the implications of a particular habit of theirs. “At one site, we observed the chef placing a pan of macaroni and cheese in an electric buffet to keep it warm until serving it. The piece of equipment was a basin filled with water with an element to heat the water. The chef put a large hotel roaster pan of macaroni into it. I said, ‘I don’t see it marked milchig or fleishig.’ “The chef answered that they used the same one for both milchigs and fleishigs. He defended this practice with the halachic concept of nat bar nat, which basically relies on the absorption of taam (taste) being secondary without any b’ein (physical pieces of food). I countered that the Chavas Daas prohibits this during the cooking process, but even if you rely on the opinion of the matirim, it would only be permissible if there was no b’ein. I proceeded to fish out a piece of spiral rotini (macaroni) and cheese floating in the hot water. “I then asked what his setup on Shabbos was. He told me, ‘I guess they serve the food straight out of the oven without using the buffet.’ The gentile worker corrected him, saying, ‘No. We plug it in for them.’ The chef tried to claim that it was only chazarah (returning a cooked item to a heat source), but we pointed out that the gentile was heating the water in the basin, so it was amirah l’akum for a d’Oraysa. “We questioned the chef on whether, in the seven years of the camp’s existence, anyone had ever asked the camp Rav what they were and weren’t permitted to do. It seemed that the gentile worker knew more about the operation than the clueless chef. 22 Sivan 5785 “I would compare a camp kitchen to a Pesach hotel. Would you say, ‘We have a frum chef, we don’t need mashgichim?!’” June 18, 2025 19 On the way to inspect the kitchen at Camp Ma’ayan Midwest. Oversight and Sloppiness “I’d like to tell two stories, one of which involved an oversight and one of which involved sloppiness,” says Rabbi Kaufman. “We visited one camp, which was locked down tight and very well maintained. There were charts for every hafrashas challah that was performed, which was impressive for a site without a formal hashgachah. “The chef showed us the outdoor grills they used for cookouts and proudly declared, ‘I turn them on.’ He thought he was thereby avoiding any question of bishul akum. I asked, ‘Do the gentile workers call you when they run out of propane? It has to happen every now and then.’ He replied, ‘I never thought of that.’ A serious oversight! “I asked the chef, ‘Do the gentile workers call you when they run out of propane?’ He replied, ‘I never thought of that.’ A serious oversight!” “This is why in all kashrus organizations, there are multiple layers of supervision. There is the on-site mashgiach, the manager on top of him, and the Rabbinical coordinator and kashrus administrator; the many sets of eyes ensure that someone catches whatever was missed. “Then there is the case of sloppiness. We visited a site where the frum chef acted as mashgiach together with two bachurim. They knew all that was going on, and it was a good solid place. However, the chef told us, ‘As far as the canteen, I can’t take achrayus. It is run by two bachurim, and you won’t be happy.’” Rabbi Kaufman described what he found at that site. “There were two deep fryers located side by side, one for pizza rolls and one for chicken nuggets. Canteens nowadays are full-service fast food places,” he quips. “The bachurim were not interested in talking, telling us, ‘We’re on top of things.’ “When I looked at the keilim, some were marked and some were not. Many were tossed, mixed together, in a single bin under the table. ‘I know which is which,’ said one the bachurim in charge, although that seemed implausible. They prepared both milchigs and fleishigs on top of a chest freezer and told us they covered it with foil when doing one or the other. The two fryers were side by side with a 14-inch divider, which was covered in grease. Obviously, grease had been splattering over the top, which is a major problem. I told the Kitchen Hashgachah in Chassidishe Camps The kashrus of the kitchens in private camps is the responsibility of the individual owner. However, Chassidishe camps, generally owned and operated by the kehillah, are under the auspices of the Dayanim of the kehillah. “We have a boys camp and a girls camp,” says Rabbi Yisrael Mering, the director of the Vizhnitz summer camps. “The Dayanim of the kehillah are the ones who set the standard for the camps. Each of the two camps has its individual Dayan. In one camp the Dayan does the inspection of the kitchen, while in the other the Dayan oversees the kashrus through a mashgiach he appoints. “Knowing that whatever happens in the kitchen is under the supervision of the Dayanim allows the campers and staff to enjoy whatever is served with no doubts as to its kashrus. As the passuk says in Tehillim (22:27), ‘Yochlu anavim v’yisba’u.’” 22 Sivan 5785 bachur, ‘Your fryer baskets are identical and not marked. You cannot possibly know the difference.’ “The chef called the Rav of the camp, who was so embarrassed when he heard what was happening. To his credit, he planned to shut it down on the spot. We discussed the difficulty of kashering the fryers; libun would inevitably break them. Instead, the camp administration bought new ones. They planned to build a new shack to house either milchigs or fleishigs.” The mashgichim jointly decry the transformation of camp canteens to businesses. Some camps are outsourcing the concession so that a proprietor owns canteens in several camps with no hashgachah. “It’s like buying from a food truck without any hashgachah,” they agree. Success Story Yet there are success stories as well. “We went to a site that needed improvement, and the kitchen manager said it was too cumbersome to implement,” says Rabbi Kaufman. “Yet the owner invited us back before the next summer and showed us that he had expanded the kitchen to separate milchigs and fleishigs, and the kitchen manager was now engaged in improving the supervision. ‘We are committed,’ the owner told us. ‘I implemented every improvement you suggested.’ I checked it over and recommended two additional improvements. On the spot, the kitchen manager called down the handyman and electrician, who did the work before I left the camp!” “By and large, camps are receptive to listening and doing what they could do to improve their kashrus,” Rabbi Tendler says. “To date, we have visited nearly three dozen camps and hope to help others in the coming year.” “At AKO executive meetings, I use the AKO camp committee as an exemplar of a successful initiative and a model for the other projects we wish to launch,” Rabbi Fishbane says proudly. “Those include an initiative to upgrade the kashrus operation in yeshivos and shul kitchens.” In a future article, Hamodia will discuss those initiatives. Camps who would like to arrange inspection with the committee can contact camps@akokosher.org