Behind The Kitchen Door Series: Snack Time

Bag of snacks destined for a lower school class

Mid morning snack time is all about prepackaged food at my school.  Younger students get snacks delivered to their classroom from the kitchen.  Due to food allergies and sensitivities, the list of acceptable snacks keeps getting smaller every year.  There’s a two-week rotation of food such as pretzels, graham crackers, string cheese, oyster crackers, and apple sauce.  Not very exciting but no more allergy issues. 

 Cart of snacks for middle & upper school 

Middle and upper students get a fifteen-minute break and may purchase items from the cafeteria.   An average day of snacks includes a baked good, 100% fruit juice boxes, and roughly ten kinds of prepackaged snacks.  Last year, we had a nutritionist come to our school, who recommended a few items to add to our list of snacks to make better options available to our students.  For example, our chocolate chip muffin (a student favorite) is sometimes sold along side a honey bun made with whole wheat.     

Apples, along with pear, bananas, and tangerines mixed in occasionally, are available free of charge all day long.