Kraft Heinz discontinues school Lunchables

After failing to gain popularity, Kraft Heinz pulls school-specific Lunchables from the menu.

Lunchables—pre-packaged boxes of crackers, cheese, and deli meat—will no longer be part of the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), a school program that provides free lunches to kids in need, Kraft Heinz announced Tuesday. While Lunchables, which were first introduced in the ’80s, are popular with kids (and parents, given they are easy to pop in a lunchbox), critics have suggested that the meals, including those the brand made specifically for schools, aren’t nutritious.

In early 2023, Kraft Heinz introduced two meals “built for schools”—a pizza kit and a turkey and cheese plate. In an advertisement for the meal kits, the brand listed the amount of protein and whole grains. “Two Lunchables now meet NSLP guidelines!” it wrote. But criticism over including the snack in the program came quickly.