Halloween Candy Leftovers...What to Do? What to Do?

It's that time of year. More candy than I know what to do with or anyone in my house needs to eat. My quest to find a home for our abundance of candy started when my kids were very young, and my son, with ADHD, was very limited with how much candy he could tolerate without exacerbating his symptoms or what was safe with his peanut allergy. The search was on to place our Halloween candy leftovers.

As with most things, I Googled it! I came across two options that seemed appealing. Donations to our local food pantry and donations to the organization Operation Gratitude, which included candy in care packages being sent to deployed troops. I brought oversized items or large, unopened candy bags to our local food pantry. The remaining individual pieces were shipped off to Operation Gratitude.

After a few years of shipping candy and spreading the word about Operation Gratitude with fellow parents, the amount we were shipping became too expensive for shipping costs. While I still planned to give to the food pantry, I liked the idea of continuing to give back to the troops. I was looking for a new economical solution. I teamed up with a group of parents at my children's school to start what we affectionately call Service Day in honor of Veteran's Day.

How does Service Day work? We have students bring their Halloween leftover candy to school. The students spend time during their school day making cards for veterans and making a small craft to be packaged with their donated candy. We have parent volunteers who deliver the final gifts to local churches for their Veteran services, VFW halls, and local Veterans hospitals. The timing of Veteran's Day so close to Halloween seemed like a perfect match. The students are learning the importance of giving back, and the gift recipients are thrilled with the treats and students' cards.

If you have a school administration who will support you in starting this project and a team of volunteers willing to help, it has become a wonderful tradition at our school. Whether you do a large project or start with your extra candy, you can find many local organizations that would love to receive treats.