CANDY PUSHERS: Student Sellers Bypass Sugar Ban

The+deal%3A+When+the+school+stopped+selling+candy+in+its+vending+machines.+a+handful+of+students+started+selling+candy+out+of+their+bookbags%2C+lockers+and+purses.++

Ashley Guinn

The deal: When the school stopped selling candy in its vending machines. a handful of students started selling candy out of their bookbags, lockers and purses.

From her oversized purse, a female senior quietly peddles Skittles and Twix bars to eager buyers in her English class.
Without a teacher noticing, the buyer hands over $1, and the seller hands over a bag of Skittles.
The quiet candy sales surfaced in Southfield High School after First Lady Michelle Obama insisted schools yank candy, pop and other sugary items from school lunch rooms and vending machines this year.
As a result of the lunchroom changes, enterprising students have become walking vending machines, selling potato chips, Honey Buns, chocolate bars and other forbidden caloric treats in hallways, the lunch room and even in classes when possible.
One candy pusher, who asked to remain anonymous, says, “I do it for the money’” but did not want to disclose his profit margin.
”Vending machines don’t have anything I like”, said junior Brenard Hardrick, who is a Skittles fan. So he buys his Skittles from a student seller.
Similarly, sophomore Nathaniel Robbins likes Twix, and the vending machine doesn’t have it anymore, so he buys the candy from a student candy seller at school.
But the candy pushers are pushing their own luck, said Assistant Principal Sonia Jackson. “We’re going to bust them like drug dealers,” Jackson said. Those who sell candy in school for their own profit could be suspended for their actions, Jackson said.
They are violating school and federal rules, said business teacher Erin McBrien.
Another candy pusher said he also does it for the money. He buys his goodies in bulk at Costco. Each night before school, he stocks his backpack with all his snacks.Thanks to the new online textbooks, he has plenty of room left in his bag for products.
To an extent, the pushers seem to use price-fixing. Everything the pushers sell throughout the school is $1 or less, but juices are two for $1.
The pushers have also identified market niches. One particular young man specializes in chocolate bars; another specializes in Gatorade.
None of the peddlers say they advertise their products. Their businesses grow by word of mouth, they say.
The pushers are not stereotypical trouble-makers. Some are honor roll and Advanced Placement students and their numbers seem to be growing.
Said one pusher, “With so much competition, it’s getting hard to sell my product.”
While students like having opportunities to buy their favorite treats, vending machine owner Renata Miller says she is losing profits. She used to be able to sell Hot Cheetos and Honey Buns in her machine, and now, due to Michelle Obama’s push for healthier snacks in schools, Miller’s machine stocks baked chips, cereal bars and low-fat cookies.
“The low-calorie foods (in the vending machine) aren’t good to me,” said sophomore Jayla Stevens, who buys from student sellers.
Most customers of the candy pushers are repeat customers, says one of the male candy pushers. He says sales are generated by word of mouth between students. He does not need to advertise; his customers come to him.
The anonymous seller says his business is growing despite First Lady Obama’s desire that kids stop eating sugary foods. He says he knows Obama would not approve of what he’s doing, but he likes the easy money.