"Jambo 2 Go" Lunch

Doug Cook
5 days ago
3 min read

aka "Summit 2 Go", "Lunch 2 Go"

Inspired by the recently published lunch menu. Will we miss the bean dip?

Bean dip has long been a staple at gatherings, parties, and casual get-togethers. Its creamy texture and savory flavor make it a crowd-pleaser.

It's repeated appearance at lunch during the course of a week of camp, and it's recurrence spanning multiple jamborees ensured a legacy.

I review the evolution of lunch at jamborees, and how one economical food item coupled to the logistics of supply, created a meme.

Author has no financial interest in any of the items discussed in this blog post

Many of the images shown on this post appear courtesy of the Jamboree Food Team Facebook Group - Thanks!

https://www.facebook.com/groups/2013jamboreefoodteam/media

A little background

2005 National Jamboree

I may be wrong but I think 2005 introduced meals for lunch dispensed by “Kiosks,” pre-sorted bagged items from the back of a refrigerated truck. An apple and a bread product were in the goodie bag.

A jamboree, then at Fort AP Hill in Virginia, could span miles, so grabbing a lunch while out and about was a good idea for convenience. It saved a trip back to the campsite to eat.

In my blog post photo back then you can just make out see daily tags/tickets which you traded for the lunch. These were kept attached to the lanyard with jamboree credentials / ID.

This screen capture was from a blog I posted back then on Blogspot.com (now defunct). That site is gone but you can still see it preserved on the archived “Wayback Machine”.

https://web.archive.org/web/20231223173129/https://1721jamboree.blogspot.com/

2013 National Jamboree

author note: I missed the 2010 jamboree.

In 2013 a new permanent site opened called the Summit Bechtel Family National Scout Reserve. A new location – and this site was selected for the upcoming 24^th World Scout Jamboree hosted by Scouts Canada, Scouts Mexico and the Boy Scouts of America. World jamboree rules require two trial events prior to hosting. The 2013 and 2017 National Jamborees served as our test-drives to get our logistics in order.

Scouts would draw food twice in their subcamps, one for morning breakfast and a second for the evening supper. The morning meal would include a new lunch distribution that was supplied at breakfast called “Summit 2 Go.”

*Photo of a supply pickup of one of the two meals in 2023.*

Scouts would pack their lunch in their daypacks before heading out for adventure from the supplies gathered at the morning breakfast draw. No refrigeration was necessary for the food to keep. A new word enters our vocabulary, "shelf stable."