Cook your Camp DIY team food
Work with teammates to plan and cook easy, healthy camp-style meals like foil packet dinners and fruit skewers, practicing safety and teamwork.
About this activity
Work with teammates to plan and cook easy, healthy camp-style meals like foil packet dinners and fruit skewers, practicing safety and teamwork.
What you need
Step by step
- 1
Step 1
Gather all the Materials Needed and put them on a clean table.
- 2
Step 2
Wash your hands with soap for 20 seconds before you touch any food.
- 3
Step 3
Meet with your teammates and pick one foil-packet flavor and one fruit skewer idea to make.
- 4
Step 4
Assign each teammate a job like chopper skewer-maker wrapper or cleaner.
- 5
Step 5
Ask an adult to cut any large vegetables or fruit and put the pieces into bowls for the team.
- 6
Step 6
Use a child-safe knife to chop soft veggies or fruit into bite-size pieces on the cutting board while an adult watches.
- 7
Step 7
Thread fruit pieces onto wooden skewers to make colorful fruit skewers.
- 8
Step 8
Place a sheet of aluminum foil on the work surface for each foil-packet dinner.
- 9
Step 9
Add pre-cooked protein and chopped vegetables to the center of each foil sheet then drizzle a little olive oil and sprinkle a pinch of salt and pepper.
- 10
Step 10
Fold the foil up around the food and seal the edges tightly to make a packet.
- 11
Step 11
Ask an adult to cook the foil packets on the camp stove or in the oven until the packets are hot and the vegetables are tender.
- 12
Step 12
Ask an adult to remove the hot packets from the heat and put them on a cool surface.
- 13
Step 13
With an adult and using oven mitts open the packets carefully and transfer the food onto plates.
- 14
Step 14
Taste your meal together and talk about what teamwork made easier or more fun.
- 15
Step 15
Share your finished creation on DIY.org
Fun facts
How do you run a Cook Your Camp DIY team food activity?
Start by choosing simple, healthy recipes like foil packet dinners and fruit skewers. Have the team plan a menu, assign roles (planner, prep, cook, cleaner), and make a shopping list. Prep ingredients together, assemble packets or skewers, and cook using a camp stove, grill, or oven with adult supervision. Check doneness, portion food, and finish with a group clean-up and brief reflection on teamwork and what worked well.
What materials do I need for team camp-style cooking?
Gather aluminum foil, skewers (wooden or metal), a portable grill or camp stove, cutting boards, child-safe knives, tongs, bowls, measuring cups, oil and seasonings, disposable plates and utensils, a cooler, trash bags, wet wipes, and a basic first-aid kit. For ingredients choose pre-cut veggies, lean proteins, whole grains, and fruit. Bring fire safety gear like heat-proof gloves and a bucket of water or extinguisher.
What ages is this team cooking activity suitable for?
Suitable for a wide range: ages 5–7 can do safe tasks like washing produce, threading fruit, and stirring with close adult help. Ages 8–10 can handle simple cutting with child-safe knives and assemble packets under supervision. Ages 11+ can plan menus, work near heat sources, and manage cooking with an adult present. Always match tasks to skill level and provide close supervision for any open flame or sharp tools.
What are the benefits and safety tips for camp-style team cooking?
Benefits include teamwork, planning, basic cooking skills, healthy food choices, and confidence. Safety tips: assign one adult to monitor heat, teach safe knife handling, keep a clear workstation, use heatproof gloves, soak wooden skewers before grilling, check food temperatures, and have first-aid and fire suppression ready. Encourage communication so teammates report hazards and cleanup is shared to prevent accidents.
Watch & Learn
Need help?
What can we use if we don't have aluminum foil, wooden skewers, or olive oil?
Use a covered oven-safe dish or parchment paper instead of foil, swap wooden skewers for clean chopsticks or short plastic fruit picks when threading fruit, and replace the drizzle of olive oil with a small pat of butter or cooking spray when adding the pre-cooked protein and chopped vegetables.
What should we do if the foil packets leak or the vegetables stay hard after cooking?
Fold the foil up around the food and seal the edges tightly, cut vegetables into uniform bite-size pieces or par-cook firm veggies before adding them to the foil, and ask an adult to cook the packets longer until they are hot and the vegetables are tender.
How can we change jobs so kids of different ages can help safely?
Give younger children simple, safe roles like threading fruit onto skewers, arranging pre-cut pieces on the foil, or being the cleaner, while older kids can use a child-safe knife to chop soft fruits, season the packets, and help with timing under adult supervision for the camp stove or oven steps.
How can we personalize or extend this activity for more fun or learning?
Create mini recipe cards for each foil-packet flavor, let teams experiment by adding herbs or citrus to the pre-cooked protein and chopped vegetables, design themed fruit skewers, then taste together and share photos and recipes on DIY.org to highlight teamwork outcomes.