By AILEEN KANGAVARY

From Hot Cheetos to chocolate bars, students constantly purchased these items from other students trying to make a buck.

One of the most popular items “Ghetto bears,” which are frozen Kool-Aid with gummy bears in a plastic bag, were one of the snacks that were stored in backpacks and sold in hallways, courtyards and even inside classrooms.

“I only bought chips from kids who sold them because the student store doesn’t stock food that I like,” junior Jasmine Nunez said. “I would rather eat Hot Cheetos than almonds.”

In an attempt to bypass the new district policy on selling only healthy snacks, students starting selling sodas and candy out of their backpacks in a type of black-market situation.

After several backpack searches and notices from faculty, the principal in September restricted food selling on school grounds for the buyers’ safety.

Partly because buyers don’t know what could be put into the food and there’s a high probability of a poor transaction, such as stolen money or students not being fair about giving change.

More importantly, students selling food undermines the school’s attempt to trying to raise money for student activities, which is supported by sales of snacks in the student store.

Principal Deb Smith explained that if someone is caught selling their own items on school campus, the items are sent to their parents the first time an incident happens.

If it’s an ongoing issue, the student loses locker privileges and they’ll have to get their materials for each class through the main office every day. No student has been caught this year.

Various types of candy such as M&M’s and Snickers were sold by students as well, while a freshman sold ice cold Coca-Colas in his backpack and a sophomore sold Hot Cheetos. Students who sold food declined to be interviewed.