You signed up for snack. You are at the grocery store. You don’t know what to bring.

The snacks that work for six-year-olds twenty minutes after a soccer game.

Goldfish or pretzels

The reliable carb. Salty, easy to chew, not messy. Buy the small individual bags. Twelve bags for twelve kids. About $6.

A piece of fruit

Clementines, sliced apples, or grapes. Clementines win because they peel themselves and the kid feels accomplished. Buy a small bag. About $4.

A water bottle

Not Gatorade. Not Capri Sun. Water. Six-year-olds do not need electrolytes from a 45-minute soccer game.

If you must do something other than water, do milk in small cartons. The protein helps recovery and the kids will drink it.

What to skip

Cookies. Cupcakes. Candy. The kid who eats sugar 20 minutes after a game crashes hard 90 minutes later. The whole afternoon is the cost.

Granola bars. Most six-year-olds find them too hard or too dry.

Cheese sticks. Some kids love them. Some kids find them slimy. The waste rate is high.

The volume

Twelve six-year-olds will eat eight bags of goldfish, ten clementines, and twelve waters. Plan for that. Don’t over-buy.

Bring leftovers home. The team manager will not want them.

The presentation

A grocery bag. The kids line up. They take one of each. Done.

Don’t put it on a tablecloth. Don’t sort by allergy. Don’t write names on bags.

The dietary list

Get the team’s dietary list before you shop. Two kids with nut allergies. One with gluten. Pick a snack that everyone can eat. Goldfish are fine. Pretzels are fine. Clementines are fine.

If you have one kid with a serious allergy, the team manager already has a plan. Ask.

The hot day version

If it’s 90 degrees, bring popsicles. Not ice cream. Popsicles. They handle being out of a freezer for 30 minutes if you bring them in a small cooler.

The cold day version

If it’s 40 degrees, bring something warm if you can. Mini muffins. A thermos of hot chocolate is cute but operationally annoying. Stick to muffins.

The skip-it-this-week scenario

If you forgot to shop. Stop at the gas station nearest the field. Buy 12 packs of goldfish and 12 waters. Done.

The team will live. Don’t apologize twelve times.

The cost

Around $15 to $20 a week. Cheaper than most single coffee orders.

The done version

Bag of goldfish. Bag of clementines. Pack of small water bottles. Twenty minutes at the grocery store. Three minutes setting up at the field.

That’s the whole job.