I don't mind not having a trader at camp. Most people wouldn't when adventuring. If item management was better, going to the druid grove wouldn't be that much of a pain.
As for the extra food mechanics, I think it might be too much; too complicated. It's not that I think your ideas wouldn't create extra flavor to the mechanics, pun intended. I just think it's too complicated for most people's tastes. As it is, there are a lot of people resisting the food mechanics and saying it's too much realism and it slows the game down and they hate it. Making it more complicated would only make more people scream, I think.
I also am not sure the buffs and debuffs would work well too. The cutscene of them eating together might be fun, but again I think it might annoy too many. I, personally, like any cutscene showing the party doing things together. Makes them feel more like a team.
