The Basics:
- Plan Ahead: Know what meals you’ll be preparing each day and organize your ingredients accordingly to reduce waste and save space in your pack. Remember: Firefly is a pack it in/pack it out event, meaning there are no trash receptacles on site! If you bring it, you take it home, too!
- Be Considerate: Clean up after yourself and leave the land better than you found it.
- Come Ready to Commune: Be open to sharing and accepting offerings from others! Building connections and community is a central part of being at Firefly Gathering.
- Bring Reusable Items: Use simple, multi-purpose utensils, a lightweight cooking pot, and reusable containers.
- Eco-Friendly Products: Biodegradable soap will help to protect the water and land and are required.
Attending the Annual Firefly Gathering is an exciting adventure whether you’re flying solo for your first time, or with the same crew of family and friends year after year. With days filled with foraging wild foods, building friction fires, weaving baskets and discussing the role each of us has in envisioning our pathway forward, preparing your nourishment for the week is one of the most important planning hacks we can think of. There are so many ways to nurture yourself at Firefly. While meal planning for camping can be intimidating at first, we’re here to share a few easy options and tips to energize you for your next class, night of dancing, or hike through the Wild Human Preserve. With some planning ahead and visits to our food truck options, your meal plan can be delicious, low-waste and easy!
Community Kitchens:
There are two kitchens at Firefly Gathering: the Community Kitchen and the Primitive Kitchen. The Community Kitchen has propane burners and a sink available for anyone to use, and is located near the Mutual Aid Tent – likely to be a hub of food sharing. Bring your own pots and pans to craft your delicious meal, and don’t forget to leave the kitchen spick and span so that others can enjoy and use this community space too!
Since nothing tastes better than food cooked with love, the Primitive Kitchen serves as a way to remember how we cooked without the conveniences of modernity. Skilled Firefly staff stock a beautiful space with a fire, cast iron pans and grills, and everything else you might expect in an outdoor-style kitchen. At the primitive kitchen, campers are invited to practice living with fire and learning the art of preparing delicious food the way our ancestors did.
In both kitchens, it is up to you to bring the right foods (quality and quantity) for your group while being mindful of the carnal rule of camping and cooking: pack it in, pack it out. And remember, finding community at Firefly doesn’t stop with those you meet in class or The Neighborhood. Bring some food to share, make friends, or even make a plan to rotate making meals with your neighbors at these shared kitchens!
Pack In, Pack Out: Leave No Trace
Before we dive into meal planning, let’s review the golden rule of camping: Pack It In, Pack It Out. This means everything you bring with you must leave with you, including all trash. Plan your snacks and meals to minimize waste and bring reusable containers and utensils to make keeping up with all of your camp cooking tools easy. Use a biodegradable soap like Castile soap to protect the land, plants and animals. As a loving guest, see what ways you can leave your campsite and community kitchen better than you found it.
Food Vendor Options
Don’t feel like cooking, or want to expand your palate with some delicious local flavors? We got you! Our friends from Bigwitch Indian Wisdom Initiative will be sharing traditional Cherokee foods for you to enjoy. We will also have our favorite delicious local food trucks back again this year, including:
- Le Bon Cafe: Serving the finest organic and local coffees, teas, and treats!
- The Garden: Seasonally inspired local & organic foods
- Cecilia’s: international, gluten-free foods including, empanadas, tamales, and more
Essential Ingredients
These simple, non-perishable foods are mostly lightweight and meant to preserve space in your pack while giving you delicious and nutritious options throughout the gathering. Here are 20 non-negotiable camping foods we especially recommend for the all-day activity environment of Firefly. These ingredients are simple to cook and consume on their own and when combined with your unique palate preferences and creativity, are delicious when paired well together.
- Bread for toast and sandwiches
- Canned beans, lentils, tuna, chicken, or pre-cooked portions of your favorite protein
- Cocoa, coffee, and/or tea
- Dehydrated vegetables
- Dried fruit (dried mango is a favorite of Firefly staff!)
- Eggs – Fresh, hardboiled or pickled ahead of time!
- Fresh fruits and veggies (choose slightly unripe ones, as they will ripen quickly in the summer heat, especially plantains and avocados!)
- Chips, salsa and guacamole
- Granola bars, trail mix or other quick snack foods
- Instant oatmeal, rice or noodles (sweet potato noodles are a great cook-in 3-minute option!)
- Jerky, cured meats, hard cheese
- Nut butters
- Olive or vegetable oil (small container)
- Pasta
- Take-out sauce packets you’ve squirreled away, or small jars poured full of your favorite sauces
- Tortillas
- Spices: salt, pepper, garlic powder, premade blends of your favorites to minimize the number of containers
- Olives
- Coconut Water and other electrolyte-balancing bevy’s
- Watermelon makes everyone smile!
Here are some examples of how we’d pair these ingredients throughout the gathering.
Breakfast ideas:
Fresh fruit, granola bars and instant coffee
Instant Oatmeal topped with trail mix and dried fruit
Instant oatmeal or toast with nut butter
Breakfast burrito – tortilla, eggs, beans, greens and hot sauce
Lunch/ midday snack ideas:
Peanut butter & banana tortilla or sandwich
Chicken or tuna wrap w veg
Rice and beans w / salsa and hot sauce
Olives, crackers, dried fruit, salami and hard cheese
Dinner ideas:
Eggs, veggies & rice w/ soy sauce
Pasta with chicken, tuna or chickpeas
Rice and beans w/ cheese and salsa
Dehydrated vegetable soup powdered soup mix + dehydrated veggies
Chili Cheese Dogs!
Snacks:
Fresh fruit
Trail mix
Jerky
One of the best parts of attending Firefly Gathering is the camaraderie created with your tent neighbors. We encourage you to share your meals and ingredients with fellow campers whenever you can! Not only does this lighten your load, but it also fosters friendships and creates a supportive environment.
Be inspired by this simple meal prep guide, prepare to adhere to the pack it in, pack it out principle and embrace the spirit of sharing to enjoy delicious, hassle-free meals while contributing to the preservation of the land and the Firefly Gathering community. We’ll see you soon!
