Dentists Buy-Back Halloween Candy from Kids, Give it to Troops Overseas

After a few days of enjoying their favorite candy after Halloween, children often have piles of treats remaining.

That’s why a Wisconsin dentist, Chris Kammer, began a Halloween Candy Buyback program, offering $1 a pound for leftover sweets collected by young trick-or-treaters whose teeth he cares for.

The program became wildly successful, partly because of where the candy ends up. It’s shipped to U.S. troops overseas, a few pieces in each care package, by Operation Gratitude.

The idea went national in 2007 and this year 2,500 dentists will be buying back candy from families nationwide.

In the above photo, Dr. Curtis Chan, a dentist in Del Mar, Calif., loads up a truck with 5,456 pounds of candy to deliver to Operation Gratitude during the buyback program last year.

If you live in the US and want to participate, there is a zip code locator to find a dentist near you on the website, HalloweenCandyBuyback.com.

(READ the story or LISTEN at NPR)