Recommend a nut-free, HFCS-free, food-dye-free toddler-class snack...

[bubbaray]

I wouldn't bother with Trader Joes for this -- I have yet to find a single thing of their dry goods or snacks that my girls can eat. Everything is "shared equipment/cross contaminated".

[srhs]

Well if TJs is no good and Annie's doesn't specifically print that they do not use shared equipment, I am back to Teddy Grahams. Can anyone think of a less offensive snack in the dry-goods category for a reasonable price?

(Thanks for the rec and I will look at the Enjoy Life brand for home, but that is pretty pricey for the whole class. I'm talking about providing enough snacks for the whole class for the rest of the year just so my kid doesn't get the junk I don't want him to have but the other moms are fine with.)

[bubbaray]

Come to Canada -- we have lots here. LOL.

Pickings are very slim in the US. VERY VERY slim. Whenever we travel in the US, we basically take all our own snack foods with us (even when we fly, we pack a weeks worth of snacks in our checked luggage).

I believe Rold Gold pretzels are marked peanut-free, though I'm not 100% sure of that.

[srhs]

Come to Canada -- we have lots here. LOL.

Pickings are very slim in the US. VERY VERY slim. Whenever we travel in the US, we basically take all our own snack foods with us (even when we fly, we pack a weeks worth of snacks in our checked luggage).

I believe Rold Gold pretzels are marked peanut-free, though I'm not 100% sure of that.

Well, at least I know I'm not totally crazy and missing an obvious choice.
You are right about the pretzels because they're on our approved list. They have HFCS, though, so I don't like them. Also, I already don't let them use those in the 1-year-old room because I think they're a choking hazard that young. Yea, these moms think I'm loco.

[Melanie]

Why not fruit?

[bubbaray]

I believe OP wants "shelf stable" items that the teacher can store?

[Momof3Labs]

Freeze-dried fruit, like Brothers All-Natural (available online or at Costco stores). TJ's also has freeze-dried fruit for a reasonable price, but not packaged in individual serving-size pouches.

[srhs]

Why not fruit?

Well, this is not "bring your snack on your day" thing. This is a "stock the snack pantry" thing.

Second, the other 3 classes don't get fruit, so if I am already opening myself up to providing all the snacks for my DS's class for the year, 4x that to be fair if I do something fancier.

Third, fruit is messy. And we're talking about volunteers taking care of kids for 2 hours. It's not something else I want to ask them to deal with.

Fourth, I have a hard enough time getting myself and my 2-under-2 there. Adding fresh fruit to my roster every time is not going to work for me. I need to buy a big stock of something.

[Momof3Labs]

I wouldn't bother with Trader Joes for this -- I have yet to find a single thing of their dry goods or snacks that my girls can eat. Everything is "shared equipment/cross contaminated".

DS2 loooooves their freeze-dried bananas, strawberries and mango. I'll have to check the package but I don't think they are made on shared equipment.

[bubbaray]

OP, I think you will find it virtually impossible to find shelf-stable, peanut-free/tree-nut free (per label) items that have no HFCS. We don't really have any of that even here, where there are TONS of individually labeled/packaged peanut/treenut free snack selections to choose from.

You might not be OK with this, but perhaps consider that a true food allergy can be fatal whereas most people who avoid HFCS, food dye, etc are doing so by choice, not by medical necessity.... Not trying to be snarky, but maybe giving you a differnet perspective?

How about taking a shelf-stable product (teddy grahams &/or pretzels) and some fresh fruit, already cut and on a nice tray? ETA: Just read your reasons why no fruit. Given that, I'd just get Teddy grahams and pretzels and call it a day....