Our team has had parent driven meals since almost the beginning. The parents set up pretty much all of the logistics and in turn, save a significant amount of time and effort on the student and mentors part. I always thank, and tell others to thank each parent every night for the meals because they are the people that keep the team going.
As for the competition, our team always has about 10-20 water bottles in the pits, just to make sure everyone is hydrated. Even though food or drinks aren't allowed in the pits for the most part, its not worth having a kid pass out while potentially working with power tools.
On another hand, this is a great thread. I never thought of keeping oneself fed and hydrated as a safety feature. Maybe this could be incorporated into any teams safety presentation at competition.
