Pakenham Hospitalities

I would like to begin my first blog by introducing myself. My name is Tim Crosby, I am an Outdoor Adventure student at Algonquin College in Pembroke. Outdoor Adventure pairs hands on professional guide training with a practical business education. Students spend three days a week in class and two days a week off campus working on outdoor skills. In the winter months our practical skills training is hosted by Mount Pakenham.





One of the first subjects addressed in ODA is Maslow's Hierarchy of needs. Maslow's Hierarchyorganizes human needs and desires in a pyramid like graph. The most important needs are at the bottom, these needs are food, shelter and safety. For a person to be content these needs must be met. Once an individuals basic needs are met they can move up the hierarchy to seek the less important esteem needs; these are things like status and materialistic possessions.





ODA students are taught that in order to be effective guides meeting clients basic needs is fundamental. Guides are expected to limit exposure to risk, and guaranteeing the basic needs plays a critical role in doing so. If clients are sleep deprived and hungry they are exposed to mild hypoglycemia and sleep deprivation which significantly increases the chances of something going wrong. Clients are more likely to be short tempered with one another or make dangerous mistakes when exposed to extended periods of deprivation.





At Mount Pakenham, the ODA students training to become guides. Educators serve as positive role models for students to model themselves after. Likewise, the facilities used and services provided should also act as positive examples from which students can learn from and model their own guiding experiences after.





ODA students are similar to the clients they will be working for in the future because they are training in activities that clients pay to be guided in. Like ODA students adventure clients will have very high energy outputs and as a result will have high demands for the provision of basic needs.





For the past two weeks the provision of food at Pakenham has encouraged significant conflict among students and their instructors. Last week it was my duty to transport dinner from the cafeteria to our portable. Upon receiving the meal another student land I looked at the dish and said, "Is that seriously it?"





When we returned to the cabin we were met by sixty plus ravenous students and Shannon. We were instructed to "ration" the food out and if done properly it "should" be enough. We did as instructed and just like the previous week the food quickly ran out and the majority of students were dissatisfied.





In Outdoor provisioning this fall ODA students were taught the importance of meal planning and proper nutrient balancing. Our knowledge was put to test by an assignment that required students to design a meal plan that balanced meals ensuring that all food groups are incorporated and all nutrient needs are taken into consideration.





Last week's meal at Pakenham consisted of white pasta, tomato juice (or paste) and cheese. A homeless shelter would not even serve this meal. The lack of food quality and quantity at Pakenham is completely hypocritical. A school that accepts money to train students to become professional guides should completely embody what they are teaching. Like their future clients, ODA students are paying money for a service and it is expected that their basic needs are met. Like the guiding industry exposure to risk among ODA's significantly increases when their basic needs are not met.





Meals should not have to be rationed out. Clients and students alike should be able take their fill without worrying about leaving enough food for the rest of the group. Similar to quantity food quality is something that students should not have to worry about because it is the responsibility of the guide who in this case is Pakenham.





For Algonquin College to ensure the legitimacy of their Outdoor Adventure Program, then it should lead by example. The conflict created by the provisioning of food at Pakenham is avoidable and sets a poor example for students to model themselves after, especially when they are paying thousands of dollars a year to do so; it is completely unacceptable.