Let’s face it, campers love an occasional visit to the infamous “Snack Shack” at camp. Nothing says freedom like choosing a slushie, popsicle, popcorn, or candy while Mom and Dad aren’t monitoring your snack intake! But what about campers who have a food allergy or intolerance, or a dietary restriction for other reasons?

While not an exhaustive list, the following items are excellent gluten- and allergen-free considerations for stocking your concession stand this summer, so that every camper will be able to enjoy a special treat. (Note that only the top nine allergens are listed, and most of the candies listed contain food dyes.)

• Airheads Mini Bars — Gluten free, and free of the top nine allergens: wheat, milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, soy, fish, sesame, and shellfish (Perfetti Van Melle, 2026)
• Note: “traditional” Airheads are not gluten free.
• Dole Whip Cups — Gluten free, and free of wheat, milk, eggs, peanuts, soy, fish, and shellfish (Dole Packaged Foods, LLC, 2026)
• Note: Contains coconut and lists tree nuts as an allergen. Available at Costco.
• DOTS — Gluten free, nut free, and kosher (Tootsie Roll Industries, 2024)
• Dubble Bubble gum — Gluten and peanut free but may be packaged in a facility that also processes peanuts, tree nuts, soy, and milk (Tootsie Roll Industries & WorldPantry.com, 2026)
• Dum-Dums pops — Gluten free, and free of the top nine allergens: wheat, milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, soy, fish, sesame, and shellfish (Spangler, n.d.)
• Fluffy Stuff Cotton Candy — Gluten free, and free of wheat, milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, soy, fish, and shellfish (Charms, 2026)
• Fruit by the Foot — Gluten free, and free of wheat, milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, soy, fish, and shellfish (General Mills, 2023)
• Fruit Roll-Ups — Gluten free, and free of wheat, milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, soy, fish, and shellfish (General Mills, 2023)
• Gushers — Gluten free, and free of wheat, milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, soy, fish, and shellfish (General Mills, 2023)
• Glutino Bars (cereal bars with strawberry filling) — Gluten free, and free of wheat, milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, soy, fish, and shellfish (Conagra Brands, n.d.)
• ICEE products — Gluten free, and free of wheat, milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, soy, fish, and shellfish; also kosher (The ICEE Company, 2023)
• Note: An official ICEE machine will need to be purchased or leased on contract.
• Jelly Belly jellybeans — Gluten free, dairy free, milk, sesame, wheat, fish, shellfish, and peanut free. May contain soy, and some products contain coconut (Jelly Belly candy, 2026)
• LIFE SAVERS — Gluten free, and free of wheat, milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, soy, fish, and shellfish (Mars, 2026a)
• LIFE SAVERS Gummies — Gluten free, and free of wheat, milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, soy, fish, and shellfish (Mars, 2026a)
• Note: The Creme Savers variety contains milk for creaminess.
• Lik-m-aid Fun Dip — Gluten free, and free of wheat, milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, soy, fish, and shellfish (Ferrara Candy Company, 2025)
• Mike and Ike candy — Gluten free, and free of wheat, milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, soy, fish, and shellfish (Mike and Ike Brand, 2026)
• Minute Maid Frozen Lemonade Cups — Gluten free, and free of wheat, milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, soy, fish, and shellfish; available at Sam’s Club (J&J Snack Foods Corp., 2026)
• Outshine Fruit and Veggie Frozen Popsicle Bars and Mini Fruit Pops — Only the fruit and veggie products are gluten free, and free of wheat, milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, soy, fish, and shellfish (Outshine, n.d.)
• Note: These are processed in a facility that also processes dairy products.
• Pixy Stix — Gluten free, and free of wheat, milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, soy, fish, and shellfish (Ferrara Candy Company, 2025b)
• Ring Pops — Gluten free, and free of wheat, milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, soy, fish, and shellfish (Bazooka Candy Brands, 2021)
• Seneca Original Apple Chips — Gluten free, cholesterol free, and kosher (Seneca Foods Corporation, 2024).
• SKINNYPOP Original Popcorn — Gluten free, and free of wheat, milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, soy, fish, and shellfish; also kosher (The Hershey Company, 2026)
• Skittles — Certified gluten free, and free of all nine top allergens (Mars, 2026b)
• Sour Patch Kids — Gluten free, and free of wheat, milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, soy, fish, and shellfish (Mondelez International, n.d.)
• Starburst — Gluten free, and free of wheat, milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, soy, fish, and shellfish (Mars, 2026c)
• Swedish Fish — Gluten free, and free of wheat, milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, soy, fish, and shellfish (Mondelez International Group, n.d.)
• YumEarth sweets — Gluten free, and free of wheat, milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, soy, fish, and shellfish (YummyEarth, Inc., 2026) Note: This company is featured in FARE, an acronym for Food Allergy Research & Education, and in the Safe Snack Guide by Snack Safely.com. All their products are free from the top nine allergens. They offer:
  • Gummy Fruits
  • Jellybeans
  • Sour Littles
  • Choco yums
  • Lollipops
  • Fruit Snacks
  • Licorice
  • Hard Candies

Because allergen-free and gluten-free foods can be less budget friendly, consider the option of creating your own frozen allergy-free smoothies or frozen lemonades and slushies with a slushy machine. Over time, this option will be a cost saver and potentially more sustainable.

While this allergen ingredient information is correct at the time of release, remember to always check a product’s ingredient list before purchasing, as manufacturers sometimes change ingredients due to product availability or cost.

References

Bazooka Candy Brands. (2021). Ring Pop. bazookacandybrandsinternational.com/our-brands/ring-pop

Charms. (2026). Fluffy Stuff Cotton Candy. Tootsie Roll Industries & Worldpantry.com. tootsie.com/product-brand/charms

Conagra Brands. (n.d.) Glutino: Gluten-free breakfast bars. glutino.com/breakfast-bars

Dole Packaged Foods, LLC. (2026). Dole Whip Cups. dolesunshine.com/us/en/products/dole-whip

Ferrara Candy Company. (2025). Lik-m-aid Fun Dip Candy: Lick. Dip. Repeat. ferraracandyshopusa.com/brands/fun-dip

Ferrara Candy Company. (2025b). Pixy Stix: Get your stix fix. ferraracandyshopusa.com/brands/pixy-stix

General Mills. (2023, April 27). Entering a new era of snacking fun: New packaging for Fruit Roll-Ups, Fruit by the Foot and Gushers will begin to roll out this summer. Retrieved from generalmills.com/news/stories/entering-a-new-era-of-snacking-fun

The Hershey Company. (2026). SKINNYPOP Original Popcorn. Hersheyland. hersheyland.com/skinnypop

The ICEE Company. (2023). The ICEE Company: Freeze the feeling. icee.com

Jelly Belly candy. (2026). Jelly Belly. jellybelly.com

J&J Snack Foods Corp. (2026). Minute Maid. The Coca Cola Company. jjsnackfoodservice.com/brands/minute-maid/

Mars. (2026a). LIFE SAVERS. life-savers.com

Mars. (2026b). Skittles. skittles.com

Mars. (2026c). Starburst: Deliciously different. starburst.com/all-products

Mike and Ike Brand. (2026). Mike and Ike. mikeandike.com

Mondelez International. (n.d.). Sour Patch Kids. mondelezinternational.com/our-brands/sour-patch-kids

Mondelez International Group. (n.d.). Swedish Fish. mondelezinternationalfoodservice.com/brands/swedish-fish/Brand=SWEDISH-FISH

Outshine. (n.d.). Our story. icecream.com/us/en/brands/outshine/our-story

Perfetti Van Melle Inc. (2026). Airheads. airheads.com/candy

Seneca Foods Corporation. (2024). Seneca Apple Chips. senecasnacks.com

Spangler. (n.d.) Dum-Dums: Make life pop! dumdumpops.com/

Tootsie Roll Industries. (2024). DOTS. tootsie.com/products/dots-original

Tootsie Roll Industries & WorldPantry.com. (2026). Dubble Bubble. tootsie.com/products/dubble-bubble-original-twist-1-lb-bag

YummyEarth, Inc. (2026). YumEarth. yumearth.com

Kimberly Whiteside Truitt is a former food service manager at Camp Gilmont and Camp Zephyr and is the director of food services at First Baptist Church in Wichita Falls, Texas. Kimberly has served on Camping Magazine’s Editorial Advisory Committee and was a presenter at the 2018, 2020, and 2023 North American Food Service and Maintenance Conferences.