Every year, as students of all ages head back to school, parents inevitably find themselves searching anew for the latest, better-for-you, healthy school snacks that their kids can pack into their lunchboxes and backpacks—snacks that feed their minds, as well as their bellies. They’re searching for foods that their kids will enjoy, but that they feel good about serving them.
That’s one of the key reasons why we launched the “Best Healthy School Snacks” contest in 2015 (see “‘Best Healthy School Snacks’ award winner” for details on last year’s winner). We gathered together some of the best healthy school snacks released within the past year that fit the criteria of controlled portions and/or calories, all made with nutrition-forward ingredients like healthy grains, fruit, seeds and nuts (see “Best healthy school snacks of 2016” for the complete list of this year’s candidates). We then put these selections forth to the Snack Food & Wholesale Bakery audience for voting.