Instacart Back-to-School Hub, more food freebies and discounts from groceries to bagels
As students, teachers and parents prepare their back-to-school lists, some eateries are extending offers to help get dinner on the table at a discount or to share a sweet treat for free to ease the end of summer vacation.
Back to School discounts, savings on snacks, groceries and treats
Below, check out some of the restaurants and food delivery services offering deals this back-to-school season.
Einstein Bros. Bagels
From Aug. 6 through Sept. 2, rewards members can purchase a baker's dozen and shmear box for $10 -- which includes 13 bagels, plus two cream cheese shmear tubs -- when ordering online or in the app.
Instacart Back-to-School Deal Week
From Aug. 11-17, families can save on lunches and after-school snacks from top retailers when they order on Instacart.
Throughout the week, customers can expect daily freebies on lunchbox essentials like high-protein snacks through Instacart's dedicated Back-to-School Shopping Hub on the website and app.
Instacart purchase data shows this is the peak time for back-to-school shopping, so the company is giving away some of its most popular lunchbox favorites. To take advantage, customers can simply open the Instacart app or navigate to this website and add the featured free item to their shopping cart. While there's no purchase minimum, shoppers should make sure their total order comes out to at least $10 "to be eligible for delivery," according to Instacart.
See the full list of daily free items below.
Aug. 11: Free box of Cheerios Cinnamon Protein.
Aug. 12: Free six-pack of Danimals Strawberry Smoothie.
Aug. 13: Free box of Welch's Fruit Snacks, Mixed Fruit (40 count).
Aug. 14: Free block of Land O Lakes Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese Chunk.
Aug. 15: Free four-pack of Orgain Kids Protein Shake (Chocolate).
Aug. 16: Free bag of Pringles Mingles Cheddar and Sour Cream Puffed Snacks.
Aug. 17: Free pack of Mott's No Sugar Added Applesauce Pouches (12 count).
In addition to Deal Week, the Instacart Back-To-School Shopping Hub will offer savings up to $8 on Uncrustables, Bounty, and Dawn while supplies last through stock-up-and-save offers that will be automatically applied to qualifying purchases.
From Aug. 11 to Sept. 12, Instacart users can also save 20% on school supplies from Staples, Michaels, Ulta Beauty, Family Dollar, The Container Store, The Home Depot, Dollar Tree and Sally Beauty.
Cinnabon & Auntie Anne's
When customers buy $30 in gift cards, they will get a MiniBon and an Original Pretzel for free.
The offer is available with qualifying gift card or e-gift card purchase from the Auntie Anne's and/or Cinnabon online gift card ordering webpage under one transaction and under one order number through Sept. 1.
The reward codes are valid for redemption from July 14 through Sept. 30.
On Sundays, Cinnabon is also offering free five-count CinnaSweeties with the purchase of any baked good.
The offer is valid in-store only on Sundays at participating locations.
Moe's Southwest Grill
Kids eat free at Moe's Southwest Grill every Sunday from Aug. 3 through 31. Rewards members will receive a Free Kids Meal offer for every adult entrée purchased that can be redeemed at any point during the week in-store and online.
The restaurant chain is also offering discounts on catering for 15% off orders of $350 or more using the code B2SCHOOL25 from Aug. 3 through Sept. 7.
Schlotzsky's
The restaurant chain known for its sandwiches and pizza has added a permanent deal rolling out Aug. 8 for a $5 Pizza Program.
Every Friday through Sunday after 5 p.m., customers can order one of the restaurant's core pizzas -- Double Cheese and Pepperoni & Double Cheese -- for just $5. For $2 more, customers can get a premium pizza including Meaty, Supreme, Veggie, and BBQ Chicken and Jalapeño.
From July 28 through Aug. 17, customers who purchase a $30 gift card will receive a small Original Sandwich reward.
McAlister's Deli
During the month of August, when customers spend $25 on gift cards, they will receive a free dessert reward.
The dessert reward must be redeemed from Sept. 1 through Oct. 31, 2025.
An earlier version of this story was originally published on July 30, 2025.
