Did you know that the number of people with food allergies has increased by 50 percent since the 1990s? Today, 1 in every 13 kids has a food allergy, which can make group snack times tricky. To help keep students safe and take the stress out of snacking at school, The FruitGuys created a brand-new snack box—the Thoughtful Nut-Free Box—filled exclusively with nut-free snacks for students and staff.
Here’s a quick look at what’s in the box, how it came to be, the ways it can support school meal programs, and how to snag it for your schools.
Peek Inside the Thoughtful Nut-Free Box
The Thoughtful Nut-Free Box is the latest option in The FruitGuys Farm-to-School Program’s snack lineup. Think of it as the little sister to our Thoughtful Snack Box. Just like the Thoughtful Snack Box, it’s packed with a rotating variety of individually packaged snacks.
Wide Variety of Snacks
Inside, you’ll find a range of wholesome nut-free snacks for students, like dried fruit, veggie-based snacks, granola bars, meat sticks, healthy cookies, clean-ingredient chips, and more—all without peanuts or tree nuts.
Wholesome and Delicious
This box includes better-for-you versions of the treats that kids love. The snacks we choose have real, pronounceable ingredients, are high in protein and fiber, and have no, low, and/or natural sugar.
Conveniently Single-Serving
Each snack inside the box is individually packaged for convenient, hassle-free munching. The snacks are easy to pass out to students, whether they’re in the classroom, attending a summer program, or on a field trip.
New Mixes Each Week
The assortment of snacks in the box rotates weekly, just like it does in our Thoughtful Snack Box. Fresh product and flavor options help keep students and staff excited about snacking.
Sourced from Diverse Snack Makers
Just as we source our fruit and veggies from best-practice farms, we source our snacks from best-practice vendors! Many come from brands that are eco-friendly, family-owned, and/or owned by a member of a marginalized community (woman, AAPI, Black, Latinx, Indigenous, LGBTQ+, BIPOC, or immigrant). Check out our Ultimate Snack Box Guide to learn more about how we choose our snacks.
Always Nut-Free
Every snack in this box is free from peanuts or tree nuts. That makes it a great choice for the classroom or as an allergy-friendly staff treat in the teachers’ lounge.
Available in Two Sizes
The Thoughtful Nut-Free Box comes in two sizes to fit your snack and meal program needs.
Large: $226 for 140 snacks
Small: $124 for 70 snacks
The Story Behind the Box
The origin story of this snack box is pretty simple. School nutrition services directors asked for a kid-friendly, nut-free snack mix—so we made it happen! The FruitGuys’ snack category manager, Daria Jackson, worked with our Farm-to-School Team to design this box specifically for schools looking for a safer snack option.
“Creating the Thoughtful Nut-Free Box was all about listening to what schools needed. We partnered closely with our Farm-to-School Team to design a snack mix that’s delicious, kid-friendly, allergy-safe, and aligned with our mission to support health and equity in every bite,” Daria said.
We’re proud to feature snacks from mission-minded companies in the mix. Here are just a few that you might see represented.
- Cheddies – Cheesy crackers that support regenerative farming
- Uglies – Tasty chips made from “ugly” potatoes that help prevent food waste
- Partake – cookies from a BIPOC-owned brand that gives Black students a leg up
When to Offer Nut-Free Snacks to Students and Staff
The options are pretty much endless! Pass them out as a classroom treat, offer them to students in preschools or ELOP-funded programs as a wholesome pick-me-up, or order a box for the teachers’ lounge to thank your staff for their hard work.
“This snack box has a great selection for anyone with nut allergies—kids or grown-ups,” said Carol Stewart, The FruitGuys Farm-to-School Program’s director of school program development. “Since they’re single-serving and all packaged up, they’re portable and mess-free. You can hand them out any time, anywhere.”
Order the Nut-Free Box Today
The Nut-Free Box is available now for schools like yours. If you already work with The FruitGuys, contact our Farm-to-School team to place an order. If you’re new to our program, fill out this quick and easy form to let us know that you’re interested.
Want to order a single nut-free snack in bulk instead of this rotating mix? We’ve got you covered. Visit our Bulk Snacks page to browse the available nut-free snacks for students and staff.
