Instead of playing video games or visiting the beach, 14 local children spent last week playing with their food.

Preparing to eat her Fruit Roll-up as a caterpillar would, Lauren Leep, 9, turned her bright blue eyes on her neighbor, Alexandrea Brickey, 11, and the two girls exchanged a gleeful smile.

With hands positioned under their chins to work as makeshift mandibles, the girls proceeded to rip the leathery fruit snack into smaller pieces with their fingers, before trying to stuff the fruit bites in their mouths. Most of the snack dropped back onto the plates as the children tried to eat as bugs do, sans opposable thumbs and without moving their hands from their chins.

Giggles spread like audible wildfire around the table as the “Growin' Yer Grub” campers discovered it isn't easy to eat when you're a caterpillar.

Although most summer camps include homesick phone calls and carefree outdoor activities, the Growin' Yer Grub day camp in Coquille is all about learning about nutrition and having fun with food. In between swimming sessions and afternoon games, campers spend a week learning about gardening, eating right and how to cook simple dishes from Oregon State University Extension Office volunteers.

Campers said they look forward to the week all year long.

“It was lots of fun watching Chef Do It Wrong mess up the cooking,” said 11-year-old Tasia Hyatt. “She sneezed and wiped it on the food!”

The day camp focuses on providing participants with a good understanding of how to grow food and what to do with it, as well as cleaning, cooking and gardening tips. Children also get a chance to play games, learn about bugs and spend lots of time in the public pool.

Growin' Yer Own Grub has been a summer staple for Coos County children for more than five years, and attracts lots of repeat campers, said OSU Extension Office Coordinator Tracy Martz. The day camp is sponsored by OSU and other local groups, is held in Coquille and followed by a second camp in North Bend (see sidebar).

“Some of the information on nutrition or food safety we're introducing for the first time or reinforcing something the kids' learned in school or at home,” Martz said. “Hopefully, the kids will take this information home and get their families involved in gardening or other home projects.”

As the campers made strawberry salsa on Tuesday, the kitchen at the Pioneer Methodist Church in Coquille was filled with the chatter of young voices. Alexandrea chopped a large pile of parsley and talked with her neighbors at the counter while Lauren wrapped rubberbands around the wrists of her gloves to keep them on her little hands.

Shaking her blond hair out of her eyes, Lauren told Katie Creason, one of the Master Gardeners volunteers, about watching her father cook.

“This is a lot of fun,” she said. “I make scrambled eggs at home every morning. My mom teaches me how to cook, too.”

Not just a day camp

One of the most important goals of Growin' Yer Grub is to teach children skills that could help reduce the hunger problem in Oregon, Martz said.

“OSU is really working to try and provide regional communities with more information, education and skills to help families and children from going hungry,” she added.

Two weeks of day camps for local kids might not seem to be a big effort in working against hunger in Coos County, but the program utilizes several groups associated with OSU Extension, including members of the OSU Master Gardeners, Family Food Educators and 4-H groups. Those volunteers make sure the campers learn about nutrition and cooking, to help their parents in the kitchen and grow a family garden.

“We start them young,” Martz said with a laugh. “And it's a step in the right direction for the kids to learn this stuff earlier than later.”

The camp is one of OSU's overall programs to increase food education and nutrition awareness, she added. Those efforts include classes and workshops on everything from pickling to making jams and jellies at the Extension Office every Thursday through October (see box).

But stamping out hunger also can start with the next generation by helping kids learn how to make nutritional choices, or expanding the knowledge they've learned at school or from their families, Martz said. That's why the camp includes a lot of cooking experiences, teaching children how to make staple items foods such as bread or tortillas, in addition to healthful meals with fruits and vegetables.

Alexandrea, who lives in Coquille, said she's enjoyed the camp so much that she's attended the program for the last two years. She'll be too old to come next year, as the camp is designed for children between ages 9 and 12, so Alexandrea plans to come back as a 4-H club member to volunteer with the camp.

“I can't wait till we make vinegar like we did last year,” Alexandrea said, adjusting her child-sized white, plastic apron with a tug as she worked on her salsa. “I think more kids should come to the camp - it's a lot more fun than sitting at home!”

Alexandrea swiveled, rolling her brown eyes and with a lift of an arched eyebrow she turned back to her cutting board.

Gathering the frayed pieces of her bright green parsley, and with a serene smile she got back to the business of salsa.