Hello everyone! In the interest of spreading this to the most people possible, I’m relating some things that have been communicated to our summer staff in order to make meal times go as smoothly as possible.

1) Though Anna and I thoroughly enjoyed enacting a S.W.A.T. operation around camp and through the apartments as people thought they were safely asleep in their beds (Just kidding; that’d be awkward. We did it in broad daylight like the fearless people we are), we would rather not have to resort to such drastic measures.

The purpose of this mission: rescuing the helpless forks and spoons and coffee mugs taken captive by utensil poachers. We realize that most of you are very diligent about using a mug or bowl and taking it right back, but we have definitely been losing some items. Please avoid removing these items from their natural habitat, as it completely throws off the balance of the industrial ecosystem in which they dwell.

2) While at times it has been useful to have a designated staff line and a camper line for walk-through meals, it actually causes many more problems and confusion than just having two camper/staff lines, and slows everyone down considerably. We will not be having a staff line for the rest of the summer.

We truly understand, that if you MUST be somewhere within 15 minutes of getting your lunch, by all means, cut through that camper crowd like an elephant through a wide open field. HOWEVERHOWEVERHOWEVER. PLEASE DO NOT COME THROUGH THE MIDDLE OF THE TWO LINES. Squeeze through the campers at the door and walk beside the kitchen to cut over to the second line (or first, if there’s space).

Cutting up the middle causes the kitchen to have to conjure the ability to part the Red Sea, and so far no such power has presented itself in any of us. It is impossible to replace food or watch the line with people in the middle. Imagine six cars in a two lane highway, when five of them are going the opposite direction as the sixth. They might make it, but I’m pretty certain that’s ticketable.

If you don’t need to rush off, consort with the campers as they endure the lines, entertaining them with tales of your own childhood and your best dad-jokes. Who am I kidding – come entertain me with those.

Thank you, staff! We love feeding you and hope you’re having a wonderful summer!

Love, Katie and Anna

For more of The Second Food Line is Open, as well as an introduction to the series, please check out https://turtlesinthewoods.wordpress.com.category/kitchen-life/