shelfable snacks for school

[zarapipe]

For Kindergarten we have been asked to bring a snack for 21 kids the first few days of the month. This snack will be put up and brought out throughout the month so it's possible that my snack will sit in the closet all month until the end. So I need shelf stable snack. I would like it to be healthy but the only fruit or vegetable I can think of is an applesauce pouch but those are $$$ for 21 kids. We don't want to do anything that needs a utensil so canned fruit is also out. So that mean it will be a grain along with every other day- pretzels, animal crackers, etc.

Help me think outside the box.

[ssmjlm]

What about individual bags of the snap peas? Or pirate booty?

[jeaniebueller]

This is how my DS's kindergarten class handled snacks as well. FWIW, sometimes I sent a perishable snack and the teacher would put it in her mini fridge and serve it that day. (I sent cheese sticks and yogurt tubes before).

Raisins?
Granola bars
goldfish
graham crackers
Craisins
trail mix

[bowies]

Trader Joe's seaweed crisps? (LOL, don't do this.)

What is the nut policy?

[zarapipe]

bowies no nut policy. Has to be store bought though.

eta- that is confusing. Nuts are allowed.

[zeewifeandmama]

Those freeze dried apples from Costco?

[dcn]

Fruit leathers
Popcorn
Raisins
Trail mix
Granola bars

Do you have a Costco or SAMs club? I can get a box of 20 applesauce Pouches for $8. I'd just go there and pick up a few options.

[bowies]

Aug 27, 2015 14:32:51 GMT -5 zarapipe said:

bowies no nut policy. Has to be store bought though.

eta- that is confusing. Nuts are allowed.

I would do the individual bags of trail mix or almonds.

[Deleted]

Boxes of raisens
Dried fruit
Popcorn

[AmyRI]

I'd walk around the wholesale club and see what they have individually packaged. They usually have applesauce pouches, trail mixes, mini craisin and raisin boxes, etc. Some mini muffins (meant for vending machines) might even be shelf stable for a month or two.

I'd also reconsider utensils. Plastic spoons for 21 kids would only be a buck or two, so I'd probably go back to fruit cups. My kids love the Dole ones and they come in 100% juice now, not just heavy syrup.

[jeaniebueller]

Aug 27, 2015 14:39:26 GMT -5 AmyRI said:

I'd walk around the wholesale club and see what they have individually packaged. They usually have applesauce pouches, trail mixes, mini craisin and raisin boxes, etc. Some mini muffins (meant for vending machines) might even be shelf stable for a month or two.

I'd also reconsider utensils. Plastic spoons for 21 kids would only be a buck or two, so I'd probably go back to fruit cups. My kids love the Dole ones and they come in 100% juice now, not just heavy syrup.

That would be a huge mess, just looking at how much of a mess my one 6 year old makes of a fruit cup in juice at our kitchen table.

[AmyRI]

Aug 27, 2015 14:40:47 GMT -5 jeaniebueller said:

Aug 27, 2015 14:39:26 GMT -5 AmyRI said:

I'd walk around the wholesale club and see what they have individually packaged. They usually have applesauce pouches, trail mixes, mini craisin and raisin boxes, etc. Some mini muffins (meant for vending machines) might even be shelf stable for a month or two.

I'd also reconsider utensils. Plastic spoons for 21 kids would only be a buck or two, so I'd probably go back to fruit cups. My kids love the Dole ones and they come in 100% juice now, not just heavy syrup.

That would be a huge mess, just looking at how much of a mess my one 6 year old makes of a fruit cup in juice at our kitchen table.

Really? My 4yo makes hardly any mess. He needs help starting to peel back the top, which I can see would be annoying to do 20 times, but he drinks the juice, peels the rest of the top off, and eats the fruit with little or no mess.

[stretchad]

Costco sells kirkland signature individual pouches of freeze dried fruit. Apples, grapes and mix of strawberry/pineapple. Those would be good. They've also got a mango kale pouch which would be a nice change from Applesauce.

[cjeanette]

Just send goldfish and call it a day.

[magpie]

One of my students brought in some gummy fruit snacks (Welch's) to share with everyone. I'm sure they're not super healthy, but they are good. I'm eating some right now

[lilles]

Seaweed. Costco has a pack of 20. My kids love it because it is salty and all their friends that we have given it to like it as well.

[lilles]

Cascadian farms makes granola bars with vanilla chips that are really good.

[anna7602]

Aug 27, 2015 14:53:52 GMT -5 AmyRI said:

Aug 27, 2015 14:40:47 GMT -5 jeaniebueller said:

That would be a huge mess, just looking at how much of a mess my one 6 year old makes of a fruit cup in juice at our kitchen table.

Really? My 4yo makes hardly any mess. He needs help starting to peel back the top, which I can see would be annoying to do 20 times, but he drinks the juice, peels the rest of the top off, and eats the fruit with little or no mess.

These are specifically "banned" for snack at our school in grades K & 1, along with those squeeze yogurt tubes. Too much potential for mess among kids of varying levels of neatness.

I don't shop at bulk-buy places and couldn't find much of that kind of stuff online, so I just went with things like Pirate Booty and Cheese Crackers and Pretzel sticks and Annie's gummy bunnies when it was my turn to bring in snack the last two years. Occasionally, the teacher would store cheese sticks in a fridge and serve them the same day, but I had to clear it with her ahead of time.