Health, Food & Safety

Our top priority at Camp YMCA Kanawana is the health and safety of your child.

Camp YMCA Kanawana adheres to the recommended guidelines and practices set out by the

Additionally, as a founding member of the Association des camps du Québec, Camp YMCA Kanawana adheres to more than 60 standards and requirements related to safety, supervision, programming, the environment, health and nutrition outlined by the ACQ. For more information on our accreditation standards, please visit the Association des camps du Québec website.

Health and Well-Being

Camp maintains a six-bed infirmary, which is supervised by two healthcare staff. All health forms, medications and printed copies of health cards are kept in the infirmary during your child’s camp session. The infirmary staff relay pertinent health-related information to counsellors, trip guides, and section directors on a need-to-know basis. Please note that health forms, printed copies of health cards, and medication are given to guides and accompany the group on canoe trips.

If your child must continue to take prescribed medication while at camp, please give the bottles, ointments etc. to the camp’s healthcare staff at the bus or on-site check-in. Please ensure that your child has enough medication to last the whole session(s) and that it is clearly marked. Prescription medication must be given to us in its original packaging with dosage information and camper’s name on the label. At the end of the session, medication will be included in the camper’s personalized envelopes available at the bus or the main office at camp.

All medication, prescribed or otherwise, is kept at the infirmary in a locked cabinet at all times. Only under special circumstances (e.g. inhalers and Epi-pens) are campers permitted to keep their medication with them.

The healthcare staff or summer camp director/assistant director will call you in the following circumstances:

  • Your child requires a visit to the clinic or the hospital.
  • Your child requires an overnight stay in the infirmary.
  • Your child contracts a contagious illness.

A stay at camp is NOT a good time to eliminate or reduce prescription medication. Camp YMCA Kanawana will only administer or dispense medication as prescribed by a doctor or pharmacists. Written permission of a doctor or pharmacist is required for any changes to dosage or time of day the medication is to be taken.

If your child is currently (or has recently been) seeing a therapist or other support person for their mental health, we ask that you tell us what their needs will be at camp. If possible, please let their support person know that we may want to get in touch with them for advice while your child is at camp or to ask them to speak directly with your child (in case of crisis or other urgent mental health support).

​​Food services

An important part of maintaining a healthy lifestyle while at Camp YMCA Kanawana is to ensure that campers eat well during their time with us. A registered dietician approves our menu before the summer begins, in accordance with the accreditation standards of the Association des camps certifiés du Québec, and we ensure that optimum nutritional standards are met for each meal. Additionally, our food service team provides hearty, healthy, and well-balanced meals to give campers the energy they need for an active day.

Campers enjoy three nutritious meals per day, along with two snacks. If campers need an extra boost, we provide fruit and water in the Dining Hall throughout the day.

If your child has any special dietary requirements, please see our Allergy Management Plan below.

Dietary Restrictions and Allergies

At Camp YMCA Kanawana, we make every effort to accommodate campers with dietary restrictions and food allergies. Please be sure to clearly describe any dietary requirements for your child on the application form.

We can provide vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free (not celiac), lactose-free and pork-free menu options for campers.

Allergy Management Plan

We pay close attention and take the following precautions to provide a safe environment for campers with food allergies:

  • We track the allergies of all our campers.
  • Our kitchen is aware of all campers with food allergies and their needs.
  • Epinephrine (EpiPen) is available at various locations around camp.
  • Epinephrine (EpiPen) is available on all overnights and canoe trips.
  • Peanuts and nut products are not available or allowed on camp. We do use products containing traces of nuts and peanuts in our kitchen, as well as in our canoe-tripping programs.

Safety note: While we are accustomed to having campers with severe food allergies and make every effort to ensure nut and peanut products are not brought onto Kanawana's property, we do not guarantee that our site is peanut and nut free, as we do use products that may contain nuts and peanuts. For serious food allergies, please feel free to get in touch with our director team prior to registration to discuss your child’s needs and to see if we can meet them.

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