“ Wholesum has been a total game-changer for us! ”

LL Bean

When it comes to outfitting wilderness trips, LL Bean knows where to look.  The LL Bean Outdoor Discovery School turned to Wholesum in 2019 to help streamline their meal prep.  “We used to use an old Excel sheet that was butchered and modified and took someone ‘in the know’ to decipher it, but now, Wholesum has streamlined our meal prep from beginning to end. It has made meal planning, grocery shopping, and tweaking new recipes as we dial them in all a breeze!”

“I find it very user-friendly and intuitive. The design and function of the site have obviously been given a lot of thought.”

“The two big savings of using Wholesum have been staff time and food waste. Having our meal planning organized with Wholesum allows for a much easier meal planning and grocery shopping experience. Then once the trip is over, we work to see what we sent too much of (or too little) and adjust our menu accordingly, and doing this in Wholesum is very easy.”

Lewis & Clark Trail Adventures

“The biggest help has been the ability for our staff, food shoppers, and guides to execute meals and shopping with much less training time. It’s been super helpful to be able to export the shopping list and recipes that are customized with meal plans that scale for different group sizes.”

Having worked in the rafting world for over 30 years, Gia and Wayne of Lewis & Clark Trail Adventures were no strangers to the challenges of menu planning for groups.  They’ve outfitted countless trips and thousands of meals down the Missouri, Salmon, Blackfoot, and Clark Fork rivers and - like so many outfitters - always struggled with efficient menu planning.  “When I was introduced to Wholesum, I instantly knew it was exactly what we were looking for and was going to greatly improve our efficiency and operations in meal planning and food shopping.” 

“Prior to Wholesum, We were using printed menus in a word document and a spreadsheet shopping template where quantities were filled out by hand,” said Gia.  Not only is the food planning process more streamlined and efficient, but it’s also made staffing easier:  “We have been able to hire food shoppers that do not necessarily have to have an outfitting background to do the job well.”

Wild Rockies Field Institute

In 2016, when Wholesum was just getting started, Wild Rockies Field Institute (WRFI) staff were looking for a way to reduce food waste and cut down on the staff time it took to menu plan for each group: “Our field staff used to get bogged down with hours of ingredient conversions, spreadsheet calculations, and reviewing recipes for dietary restrictions.” WRFI volunteered to be a test-user with Wholesum in 2017 and hasn’t looked back since.  With their (and many other organizations’) input, Wholesum has become what it is today and WRFI’s menu planning has never been better:

“Wholesum makes group food planning and shopping SO much easier. Our organization has a stockpile of institutional recipes collected over decades of operations, and Wholesum made it incredibly easy to plug in our existing recipes, apply group sizes and dietary restrictions, and churn out accurate, streamlined ingredient lists.” 

What used to take countless hours now just takes a few minutes. “It allows us to give more attention to other aspects of course preparation (curriculum development, travel logistics, safety and risk management).”

Alzar School

When Scott Krumm, the Food Director at Alzar School, first learned about Wholesum he was ready to jump in.  “Our old process was not very efficient! Lots of writing down ingredients and calculating quantities. Now Wholesum does it all for me.”

Early on Scott, and the Alzar team, used Wholesum for all of their menu planning for group expeditions but quickly realized that there were broader uses,  “Originally, [Wholesum] was primarily used for expedition planning, but we now use it for on-campus meal planning as well. It has made our weekly ordering a lot more efficient and organized.”

“My favorite aspect is that Wholesum automatically updates the quantities I need based on the number of people I need to feed, which is always changing!”

“Wholesum has made our process for ordering food way more efficient and our weekly meal plan has all the recipes grouped together, so our process for cooking has become easier as well.”

Ironwood Tree Experience

Ironwood Tree Experience (ITE) sought a more efficient system for food packouts and recipe management, and Wholesum delivered. “Before adopting Wholesum, we were manually inputting ingredients and estimating portions, which was often inaccurate. With Wholesum, scaling menus based on group size is now quick and efficient, and recipe refinement has improved portioning accuracy.”

The benefits were clear across the team. “Our field staff appreciate being able to fine-tune recipes, which has led to significantly less food waste. After three backpacking trips in 2024, we achieved nearly zero waste by the final program, aligning with our sustainability goals.”

“The time savings have been huge, allowing us to be more creative with our menu planning. Wholesum has also streamlined budgeting and purchasing, making the whole process more efficient and organized.”

“Wholesum has had a tremendous impact. It saves us time, reduces waste, and improves our sustainability efforts, all while freeing up staff to focus more on the participant experience.”

Inspiring Girls Expeditions (Alaska)

When it comes to leading life-changing expeditions for young women, Inspiring Girls Expeditions Alaska knows that great meals are a key part of the experience. Before discovering Wholesum, their meal planning process relied on a mix of scattered notes and Excel spreadsheets—far from efficient.

“Wholesum has helped us plan detailed, delicious menus that respect our participants' dietary requirements with far less time and effort than we used to put in!"

For their team, one of the biggest game-changers has been Wholesum’s drag-and-drop calendar feature:

“I love seeing the meal plan laid out visually like that!”

Beyond convenience, Wholesum has made a real impact on efficiency. “In previous years, our instructor teams spent more than half of their allotted field prep time on menu planning, food shopping, and packing. Now we spend a fraction of that time on food, which allows for more time planning program curricula and activities!”

With Wholesum, meal planning is simpler, food prep is faster, and their team can focus more on what truly matters—empowering young women through outdoor adventure.