Grocery stop with a crowd questions!

[Girls Scout Leader]

I do not usually hang out on this board much, so forgive me if this is a subject that has been beaten into the ground!
We ( my girl scout troop) have booked Happy Limo for the trip rom the airport to Shades of Green. (I have secretly upgraded to a limo from a van and it will be a huge surprise!) Tehy include a 15 minute grocery stop, and we will need every minute of that! Has anyone used this? Which store do they take you to? I think I will be adding an addititonal 15 minutes, at an additional cost, because I believe we will need it. Have you ever done this with a group? Since most of the girls will be basically paired with thier won mom, and tastes diffre so much, I am going to have each "group" be responsible for thier own food. i ahd considered a meeting before hand and have a master list that everyone splits up, but I think making each do thier own is better. Also, the idea (gotten from these boards somewhere) of shipping a box of non-perishables, disposible bowls, spoons, etc makes sence, too, so we will only need perishables, and renting a fridge.
Any grocery stop ideas and hints is greatly appreciated!!

 

[CarolA]

Personally I would skip it! I have shopped with Girl Scout Troops and they can spend an hour at a vending machine!!!! LOL!

Anyway, since that is not going to happen you need to LAY DOWN THE LAW on this. Go ahead and have that meeting. If you pay for 30 minutes the moms and scouts need to know that if they are late one of two things will happen (A) they are left at the grocey or (B) they are responsible for additional charges!

Make sure they know exactly what they want. I would either bring or ship any non-persihables and tell them the stop is only for perishable items. How many fridges are you renting? If they are the tiny dorm room fridges make sure everyone understands that and the amount of space each "group" gets. Also, they need to understand that ice cream is NOT going to fit in those frezzers (much less stay frozen) You might consider consolidation on milk and basics like that.


While this is off topic, having done a LOT of Girl Scout trips in my life I hope that you have explained the GS rules to the moms. You will be the one responsible and the one being sued if something happens (trust me, no matter how close you may to these moms, I have seen people turn for money! I had a mom threaten to sue me because I let her daughter go to a resturant where alchol was served. NONE of us drank, but... she had an attorney. The council attorney handled it for me!! Apparently I was fully responsible for the morals and values of this 17 year old. I did tell the mom that if at 17 said girl did not have morals or values it was a little late for ME to teach them. )

 

[Girls Scout Leader]

Holy Smokes! I, too, have done a few trips with the girls, but on service unit trips, (Savannah, New York, Boston). The adults going have been ast. leaders for many years, but I can see that it all bears repeating! What a nightmare! Thanks for the heads up. And, too, I had not considered the amount of room in the fridge.

 

[CarolA]

Well your moms probably know the rules then. (And not that my situation was covered by any rule or guideline I have ever heard of and I have read Safety Wise LOTS of times!)

 

[Teri Zolman]

I agree with sending the box. Have each group buy their food ahead of time and send it in their name. I helped with at trip to Disney with 12 girls a few years ago and it took the girls forever. I do not think even 30 minutes would be enough. Good luck! We had a great time.

 

[Kelly&John]

Just an FYI,

If you forget something or run out, some of the Home Away from Home Resorts have small grocery stores attached to them. I know the Fort Wilderness Campground has a nice sized store as well as the Boardwalk. Good Luck!

Kelly

 

[clkelley]

Actually, I think the better way would be to make a master list and split it up. Then have a few of the adults go fetch the list of items, while two of the adults stays with the girls.

A lot quicker and easier that way.

Another alternative is to dispense with the limo, and get a van and a towncar. Have the van with all the girls and two of the adults head straight to the resort for check-in and have a couple of the adults in the towncar go for the grocery stop.