Can a breakfast snack change lives? These Philly kids think so

At 16, Zaire White has participated in high-level business meetings, made major marketing decisions, gripped hands with executives, and introduced and sold a product regularly consumed by thousands of Philadelphians.

White and a dozen of his peers in Philadelphia public schools are the driving force behind the student-run Rebel Ventures. Its goal: peddling “healthy deliciousness.”

During the school year, they sell hundreds of thousands of their Rebel Crumbles — dense, soft breakfast cakes packed with whole grains, apples, and cranberries — to the Philadelphia school system. Next week, the students’ flagship product will be available at a grocery store.