COLORADO SPRINGS — As we turn the calendar to November, trick-or-treaters across southern Colorado are now taking inventory of this year’s Halloween candy haul. In many cases, those candy buckets tend to fill up and then sit on the shelf, but several local companies say they want to take that candy off your hands and help you turn it into cash. It’s all for a good cause.
”Especially when Halloween is on a Monday, you figure there are all these little things going on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and then Monday, and so you’ve got four days there potentially where they’re adding candy to the bag,” said Candace Chavez of Simply Kids Dental.
During the last decade, the day after Halloween buckets fill up has been a busy one at Simply Kids Dental. Again this year, it opens its doors to buy back candy from the community, paying cash for every pound of candy returned.
”Last year being our 9th year, we had well over 100 pounds of candy,” said Chavez.
Several other businesses across southern Colorado are doing the same and when that candy is collected, it’s sent off to organizations like Soldiers’ Angels, where the candy is processed and sent to our troops serving here at home and abroad.
”Just that little sweet treat in the middle of the day when you’re sitting in the field in the middle of nowhere is really, really great. But some of it’s not even about the candy, it’s just about the thought and somebody cared enough to provide it,” said President and CEO of Soldiers’ Angels Amy Palmer.
Many organizations who offered this service in the past aren’t doing it anymore because of the cost and challenging logistics of moving all this candy. Soldiers’ Angels says it’s ready to handle an estimated 200,000 pounds of donated Halloween candy this year alone.
”It’s sorted. We do take some that we save for stockings and then the rest, the first bit of it, goes to the deployed. That’s the first place we send,” said Palmer. “So every deployed service member or chaplain who asks for candy will get their boxes first.”
And if the cash and good cause aren’t enough incentives to give back some of that Halloween candy, experts say it’s a healthy decision for your smile too.
”It’s all about dental health. We all want to make sure we’re keeping our sparkly whites clean and we’re eating less sugary substances,” said Chavez.
Here are some of the businesses offering those candy return events:
Simply Kids Dental on Nov. 1st
Blue Springs Dental Nov 1st - 3rd
Prominent Point Dental Group Nov 1st - 7th
EZ Ship and U-Haul (5142 North Academy) Until November 14th
If your company is offering a candy return service, please email us at news@koaa.com so we can add your organization to the list.
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