The Best Back to School Snacks at Costco

There are a lot of stops you have to make when you’re back to school shopping. Target for new school supplies, Kohl’s for that first-day-back ‘fit, and obviously, we need to make a stop at Costco for all our snacking needs. The real beauty of buying back to school snacks in bulk is that you can buy enough to get you through to winter break in one go! Seriously, imagine braving the Costco parking lot just once a semester. What a dream! There are plenty of salty, savory, and sweet back to school snacks at Costco, so here’s a grab bag for the ol’ lunch bag.

Welch’s Fruit Snacks

We’re starting off strong with a real snacking classic! Every school kid needs a pack of fruit snacks to pop in their mouth between classes. And Costco just so happens to have the best fruit snacks you can buy, according to Sporked’s Jordan Myrick. Your kids will eat these. You will eat these. The dog will probably have a few (although we don’t recommend feeding fruit snacks to pets). Anyway, you might as well add 90 packs of ’em to your back to school Costco haul.

Kellogg’s Cereal Cups, Family Variety Pack

Cereal can be breakfast or it can be a snack—it’s versatile like that. For the purposes of this list of back to school snacks at Costco, we’re counting it as a snack. There were a few tantalizing variety packs I spotted at Costco, but I have to admit that it just feels more responsible to send your kid to school with a cup of cereal rather than a pack of Oreos. Cereal gets a bad rap, but you can pat yourself on the back for choosing the cereal this time.

Sargento Balanced Breaks Cheese & Crackers

Legally speaking, I don’t know if I can recommend that you send your kid to school with cheese that’s going to sit out all day until they finally eat it before wrestling practice. So let’s just say they have an insulated lunch bag, plenty of ice packs, and/or access to a refrigerator—then we’re golden. Sargento makes good cheese (their slogan isn’t bull) and these little cheese and cracker combo packs make back to school snacking easy. No cutting cheese (sorry), no futzing with baggies for the crackers—just toss one of these puppies in that well-insulated lunch bag and you’re good to go.

Smucker’s Grape Jelly Uncrustables

Okay, here’s a back to school snack you don’t need an insulated lunch bag to enjoy. Uncrustables come frozen, so they can sit out at room (or locker temp, as it were) all day long and it’s all good. Also, Uncrustables are delicious. I know what you’re thinking: Why can’t you just make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich?? Well, according to the Sporked crew, Uncrustables are superior thanks to their perfect peanut butter-to-jelly ratio, not to mention the super squishy white bread that’s their trademark. If you have room in the freezer, this 18-count box is a great back to school buy at Costco.

Frito-Lay Fun Flavor Mix Variety Pack

Kids love chips. And sorry, granola parents, you can’t stop them from getting their fix. But you can get them the good stuff. That’s why I went with the Fun Flavor Frito-Lay Variety Pack at Costco. The Classic Mix is fine (you get plain Lay’s, BBQ Lay’s, Crunchy Cheetos, two types of Doritos, and plain Fritos, but the Fun Flavor Mix really has the goods: Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, Jalapeño Cheddar Cheetos, Cheetos Puffs, Funyuns, Wavy Lay’s, Spicy Nacho Doritos, and Chili Cheese Fritos. No joke, I wish I was going back to school just so I could pick a bag of chips from the 54-count box every morning.

GoGo SqueeZ Active Fruit Blend Pouches

I don’t quite know if kindergarteners can safely consume electrolytes. But I do know they’re more likely to consume applesauce than teens. But whether you have youngsters, tweens or teens, we bet they’re always doing a lot, and these GoGo SqueeZ pouches I spotted at Costco are designed for active kids. Want to have the most hydrated tot in the schoolyard? Grab a nice big box of these at Costco.

Capri Sun Variety Pack

Are juice boxes really a snack? Well, not technically, but this is my list, so I say what goes. And frankly, no back to school list would be complete without Capri Sun. These juice pouches are classic! And you can get a box of 40 at Costco in three fun flavors: Fruit Punch, Berry, and Apple. Don’t forgo the reusable water bottle (children need water!), but toss one of these in their lunchbox as a midday treat. Soon they’ll be 30 and Capri Sun will be a nostalgic indulgence. Time flies!


About the Author

Vinz Karl

Vinz Karl is a freelance contributor to Sporked and self-proclaimed Guy Fieri superfan. He believes in breakfast supremacy and is on a never-ending mission to try every flavor of Oreo out there. Originally from the Midwest, Vinz now resides in Los Angeles, where you can find him going on hikes, checking out new restaurants, and preparing for his eventual casting on CBS's Survivor.

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