VBS by the numbers—here are some stats from the VBS kitchen for both snacks and staff lunches: 596 cupcakes, 610 cookies, 11 dozen eggs, 24 pounds of confectioner’s sugar, 12 pounds of butter, 12 pounds of melting chocolate, 4 pounds of chocolate chips, 150 ice cream cones, 10 lbs. of flour, 10 pounds of sugar, 2 pounds of brown sugar, 6 loaves of whole wheat bread, 3 English cucumbers, 8 pounds of pasta, 3 large cans of cream of mushroom soup, 6 pounds of grated cheese, 3 cans of whipped cream, 750 blueberries, 375 strawberries, 40 oranges, 500 grapes, 591 jelly beans, 100 tootsie rolls, 150 cheese sticks, 750 mini marshmallows, 250 large marshmallows, 630 tater tots, 125 pretzel rods, 250 square pretzel squares, 300 red chocolate roses, 10 pizza doughs, 100 slices of turkey and 15 very tired kitchen staff! Onward to Lion King-2019!

For many years we trooped all of our campers through the two restrooms to wash up before snacks. Not only was this a bottleneck that took an enormous amount of time, but it was also equally a huge mess! We tried a tub of water, but that simply is not hygienic. It needs to be running water.

After my wife and I made a short cruise on the Disney cruise line, we discovered their method of healthy hands. All dinners were handed a disposable "disinfectant wipes" to wash their hands. This worked for several years, and yet we did not like the idea of filling up the landfill.

On another cruise, we saw that Disney installed these slick hand washing machines in the kid areas. They are slick. Pop your paws in and in about 30 seconds they come out clean. Alas, the device costs several thousand dollars.

Our solution this year was a hospital standard. Stick your hand under the nozzle, and the machine squirts the correct amount that kids rub on. Worked slick. We are aware that some studies have shown this method less effective than a traditional 20-second hand wash under running water, and it is good enough for our hospitals, we will give it a go.