15 Snacks Every ‘80s Kids Had In Their Lunchbox

Kickball was a competition, sure. So were the actual academics of school, in some ways. But the one true competition? The one you always wanted to win, every single day? 

Best lunch. What tools of the trade were you packing if you were an 80s kid? Take a look at some of the most popular school lunch treats of the 1980s. 

Transformers. Dukes of Hazzard. Star Wars. Ghostbusters. There were so many coveted franchise-themed lunchboxes to grab out there in the 80s. This was the elementary school version of a luxury handbag. What you brought that day defined you. What were you showing up with?  

(Some of your old lunchboxes may even be worth something today.)

My mouth is watering just thinking about this magical invention of Ritz’ design, though I’m already angry at that annoying red tool we had to use to rake the cheese over our crackers.  

An art project as well as a fruit snack! Roll-Ups hit our lunchboxes in 1983 and have remained there ever since. What kind of Roll-Up-er were you? Did you meticulously punch out the designs like you were in “Squid Game” or did you just chomp the whole thing down? 

That’s right, one of the most famous chips on the planet is actually almost 30 years old. Cool Ranch Doritos came out in 1986, and any kid lucky enough to score them in their lunchbox probably had free reign to trade with anybody for anything. 

The famous children’s charcuterie set did not debut until 1989, so there was only one year that 80s kids could have enjoyed Lunchables… but enjoy them we did, and in that one brief year, the children’s lunch game changed forever. 

Since its start in 1919, there’s never been a lunchtime that Hostess didn’t rule. Cupcakes, Zingers, hand pies, and the rest of the iconic brand’s treats have long stood as one of the best desserts you could find in your lunchbox. As long as you’ve got some milk to wash it down. 

Some people don’t like Hostess, though. Some (very incorrect) people think that Little Debbie is the perfect finish to a classic school lunch. Oatmeal Creme Pies, Zebra Cakes, and Nutty Buddies were major players in the dessert game in the 80s, and were terrific bartering material if you saw something in somebody’s lunch you wanted more. 

Not sure why it took Keebler this long to come up with a cookie that had a fudge center, but Magic Middles debuted to much acclaim in the lunchbox community.  

When OREO thought of Double Stuf in the 70s, they had some really good ideas going on in the factory that day. When OREO thought of Big Stuf a decade later, they weren’t exactly firing on all the same cylinders. This individually wrapped cookie was an enormous three inches in diameter, and the sugar rush it brought on was unimaginable.  

Fruit Wrinkles were barely wrinkly, and really, barely fruit. But they were sugary and chewy and kids loved ‘em. That said, by 1995, kids had stopped ‘em them since they fully went out of business. 

If you eat your cereal incorrectly (read: without milk) then you may have had some dry cereal packed into your lunchbox. There were a slew of killer 80s cereals, each one more nostalgic than the last. Nintendo had cereal of course, since it was just released, as did the Ghostbusters, Gremlins, Ninja Turtles, and so many more. 

“Ghostbusters” was a massive hit (clearly, since the franchise is still releasing movies 30 years later), and it spawned a lunchbox classic: The Hi-C Ecto Cooler. It was citrusy, and, naturally bright green. 

Were you lucky enough to have soda in your lunchbox? You’ve got some chill parents. Slice dropped for the first time in 1984 and was the it-factor soda for a while. 

Nothing like getting a bunch of alien blood-red mystery fluid into you by manner of a physical feat of strength, you know?  

Though invented in the 70s, Pop Rocks were a staple of school lunches by the 80s. Kids were popping those rocks all damn day, most likely in secret during class.  

Did you know Dr. Pepper made gum? Well, he did, and confusingly, the good doctor stuck a liquid center in the middle. It was supposed to taste like Dr. Pepper, but reports about whether he accomplished that task are extremely varied. 

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