Five Ways To Responsibly Get Rid Of Your Kid's Extra Halloween Candy
Halloween is over. But once the last jack-o-lantern has rotted and the first holiday songs start to play, there’s still a problem many parents face: What to do with all that candy. However you deal with candy in the immediate aftermath of the holiday, many pediatricians and dietitians recommend eventually transitioning your kids to just a few pieces a day as a treat. Many kids will naturally lose interest after a bit, leaving parents with an excess of fun-sized candies to deal with. Another potential source for tons of candy: the candy you bought, not your kid’s free spoils. If you live on a quiet street (or just overestimated your trick-or-treater needs) you may have quite a lot of candy on your hands that will take a long time to disappear if you only dole it out a piece at a time.
In the past few years, a number of organizations have found ways to address this post-Halloween candy excess responsibly. Here are a few options for donation, from local to global.
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1. Treats for Troops
A special yearly campaign from an organization called Soldiers’ Angels, Treats for Troops sends leftover Halloween candy to military bases, VA hospitals, and guard and reserve units worldwide. Businesses and organizations register as candy donation sites, and then give the donations received to Treats for Troops to distribute. You can find a dropoff location near you using their map here.
2. Halloween Candy Buy Back
Dentists are natural partners for these Halloween candy buy back programs since candy can contribute to tooth decay — and in 2014, a dentist’s office and a local PTO partnered with Move America Forward Halloween to start the candy buy back program. But they’re not just gleefully destroying the candy they buy from kiddos: like Treats for Troops, they send it in care packages to deployed military members. When a local business — not always a dentist’s office! — registers a buyback event, you can drop your candy there for an actual payoff (usually $1 per pound, with a cap of 5 pounds). Or you can simply donate your candy directly to the organization by sending it to Halloween Candy Buyback, Move America Forward, 3105 Fite Circle Suite 108, Sacramento, CA 95827. You can send notes, toiletries, and other items for care packages too!
4. Operation Shoebox
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You don’t even have to wait for Halloween to donate sweets to Operation Shoebox — but it’s a great way to contribute your leftover Halloween candy to a good cause! Operation Shoebox sends care packages to deployed soldiers year-round and includes candy in each one. You can mail your donations directly to the organization at Operation Shoebox, 8360 East Highway 25, Belleview, FL 34420. Find out more about the program here.
5. Ronald McDonald House
Donations of food, toys, household and personal care items, and gift cards are always welcome at Ronald McDonald house, a charity that lets families be close to their chronically-ill kids during lengthy hospital stays without incurring the prohibitive costs of hotels and meals. Learn more about donating, and find the RMHC chapter closest to you, here.
6. Local Organizations
Mailing candy donations to organizations that ship them far and wide is great, but you could also look a little closer to home for places that would love to accept your Halloween excess. Homeless shelters, women’s shelters, and retirement homes are all great places to offer up your candy stash.
7. Service Workers
Police and fire departments, ambulance drivers and EMTs, and delivery drivers often work long shifts and would appreciate a sweet pick-me-up. Deliver them in person — or for delivery drivers, leave a bowl on your porch with a note to help themselves.
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