Article: "Art of the Trade" (on trading lunches at school)
 

https://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyl...s6I/story.html

First paragraphs:

By Jill Radsken Globe Correspondent October 06, 2015

Gus Belsher scans the snack aisle with the practiced eye of any shrewd corporate buyer. But the 11-year-old isn't looking for maximum taste. He wants maximum trade value. "I usually get gummies and pizza Goldfish. Everyone loves those," says the Hingham fifth-grader, who leverages the sweet and salty treats into lunchtime trades at school. "It can't be cranberries or chocolate pretzels. It's not really weird stuff."

Lunchtime deal-making continues to flourish in schools, even as hypervigilance related to food sensitivities and federal school lunch reform has changed the environment. For most kids, it's a chance to upgrade their own lunch -- or get schooled on the finer points of manipulation. Chex Mix, for instance, might be worth more than Goldfish to a student who only gets the fish crackers in the lunchbox, or two of a kid's least-favorite flavor of Jolly Ranchers are a fair swap for two jumbo marshmallows. Some children will even trade an Oreo for an apple...

(snip)


Lenona.