Summer programs keep students moving, learning, and playing—but all of that activity takes fuel. Luckily, there are plenty of nutritious and delicious snack options out there. To help you pick the best ones, we’ve rounded up our top healthy snacks for summer programs. They’re great for students or staff (because adults get hangry, too!).
The Best Healthy Snacks for Summer Programs
The list includes farm-fresh fruit and single-serving bites that are nut-free and kid-approved. It’s a great place to start for any summer program you’re running, whether it’s a sports camp, preschool, after-school program, summer school program, enrichment program, or summer camp.
1. Blake’s Original Crispy Treats
These certified vegan and gluten-free crispy treats are made with pumpkin, flax, sunflower seeds, and chickpeas, so they’re more nutrient-dense than similar sweet snacks. Plus, they’re free from the top nine allergens and come in other easy-to-love flavors like strawberry and chocolate chip. Pass them out to kids on the playground or between activities in the classroom.
- Fat: 2.5 grams
- Sodium: 40 mg
- Sugar: 7 grams
Other Flavor Options: Strawberry, Chocolate Chip
2. BjornQorn Classic Popcorn
BjornQorn (aka BQ Farms, Inc.) sources the corn for its popcorn from small farms and pops it with solar power! It’s an eco-friendly choice that’s packed with crunch and flavor. Keep it simple and stick with the classic corn—we love the cheesy flavor it gets from nutritional yeast—or choose salted (which BjornQuorn calls “Cloudy”) or spicy for a fun twist.
- Fat: 8 grams
- Sodium: 200 mg
- Sugar: 0 grams
Other Flavor Options: Cloudy, Spicy
3. Blueberries
Blueberries are nutritional superstars, packed with antioxidants and vitamins that help boost brainpower. Plus, they’re hydrating and delicious! Encourage students to eat them by the handful or sprinkle them over yogurt if it’s handy. Here’s how a half-cup serving measures up.
- Fat: 1 gram
- Sodium: 1 mg
- Sugar: 15 grams
4. Mango Chum Fruit Bites
These wildly healthy, yummy fruit bites are certified vegan, gluten-free, and kosher. They’re made with mangoes and pears—that’s it. Chum even donates 15% of its profits to WildAid to help protect endangered animals around the world.
Chum Fruit Bites are compliant with requirements for school meals!
- Fat: 0 grams
- Sodium: 0 mg
- Sugar: 8 grams
Other Flavor Options: Blackberry, Peach, Strawberry
5. Crunchsters Sweet Heat Barbeque Crunchy Mung Beans
This sprouted mung bean snack bursts with sweet, hot BBQ flavor. It’s an irresistible, better-for-you alternative to potato chips. Rich in nutrients, protein, fiber, and iron, each pack is certified vegan and gluten-free. Enjoy the tiny beans by the handful or sprinkled over salad at lunchtime.
- Fat: 9 grams
- Sodium: 270 mg
- Sugar: 2 grams
Other Flavor Options: Simply Sea Salt, Beyond Bacon®, Tangy Balsamic
6. Donut Peaches
Every peach is a good peach, but California-grown donut peaches are a particularly fun treat for summer programs. They’re full of peachy flavor, fiber, and iron, but have less messy juice than their fellow stone fruits. Plus, kids love that they’re shaped like flying saucers!
Peaches can be yellow or white inside, and round or donut-shaped outside. Here’s the nutrition information for a typical medium-sized peach.
- Fat: 0 grams
- Sodium: 0 mg
- Sugar: 13 grams
7. Nectarines
Like peaches, nectarines are seasonal summer classics. Their smooth, tart skin is a nice contrast to the sweet fruit. They’re high in Vitamin C (great for boosting the immune system) and are also a good source of fiber. And like peaches, they can be white or yellow-fleshed and come in a host of varieties. Serve them whole or sliced for a crowd-pleasing snack. This is how a medium nectarine stacks up.
- Fat: 0 grams
- Sodium: 0 mg
- Sugar: 11 grams
8. Plums
Whether they’re red, black, or green, plums are a healthy snack! These summer stone fruits have smooth skin and juicy flesh, and can be sweet-sour or simply sweet. Red plums are full of heart-healthy anthocyanins, too, and deliver fiber, potassium, and zinc. Here’s the nutrition scoop on an average plum.
- Fat: 0 grams
- Sodium: 0 mg
- Sugar: 7 grams
9. Pluots
Pluots are an apricot/plum hybrid developed in the 1980s by fruit breeder Floyd Zaiger. They’re more plum than apricot, with a vibrant, tart-sweet flavor and a rich, juicy, plum-like texture. We love to eat fresh California-grown plums out of hand or toss slices into a fruit salad.
- Fat: 0 grams
- Sodium: 0 mg
- Sugar: 10 grams
10. Rule Breaker Chocolate Brownies
These melt-in-your-mouth, plant-based brownies taste like a decadent dessert, but they’re actually made with chickpeas! Students will love the chocolate flavor, while staff will enjoy the undercover protein. Each brownie is free from the top eleven allergens and certified gluten-free, kosher, and non-GMO.
- Fat: 11 grams
- Sodium: 140 mg
- Sugar: 11 grams
Other Flavor Options: Birthday Cake Blondie, Chocolate Chip Blondie, P’Nutter Chocolate Chip Blondie
11. Uglies Sweets Potato Chips
Whipped up from sweet potatoes that would have otherwise gone to waste, these crisp, simply seasoned chips are great for an afternoon snack. They’re made by a company that supports farmers and fights childhood hunger, and they’re also certified kosher, vegan, and gluten-free!
- Fat: 11 grams
- Sodium: 70 mg
- Sugar: 5 grams
Other Flavor Options (Regular Potato Chips): Barbecue, Buffalo Ranch, Cheddar & Sour Cream, Jalapeno, Original Sea Salt, Salt & Vinegar
Get the Best Healthy Snacks for Your Summer Programs
Our team at The FruitGuys Farm-to-School Program can deliver all of these bites and more to schools like yours! We specialize in seasonal, California-grown fruits and vegetables and wholesome single-serving snacks. You can browse all of our products here, order bulk single-serving snacks here, and learn all about our curated nut-free snack mixes here. Our packaged snack options rotate weekly and our produce changes with the seasons, so availability for specific bites may vary.
Note: All fruit nutrition information is sourced from the United States Department of Agriculture and rounded to the nearest whole number.