Halloween candy buy-back

November 2, 10:41 AMBoston Sustainable Food ExaminerLeah Bloom

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Whether your little ones brought home sacks full of candy this weekend, or not enough trick-or-treaters rang your bell, odds are good you're wondering what to do with the sudden influx of junk food. (Besides eating it, of course - who needs the extra calories or the sugar high?)  

Fortunately, two local businesses have sustainable solutions for you!  Sustainability is about more than where and how your food is grown.  It's also about how the humans in the food chain are treated, and this Halloween, you can treat our troops by donating your candy to select local businesses.

At Magic Beans, a toy store with locations around Boston, you can help yourself while helping our brave soldiers.  From now until November 10, bring in your surplus candy and get a coupon for 25% off of one toy that day.  Magic Beans will send all the candy it collects to the USO, and with a new toy in hand, hopefully your kids will forgive you for giving their candy away.

Halloween is a dentist's nightmare, but some dentists have turned it into a dream come true for soldiers with a sweet tooth.  Dr. Mike Thomas, of Abington Family Dental Care, is offering to buy candy back from his patients for $1 per pound.  He will donate all of the candy collected to Operation Gratitude, a nonprofit organization that sends care packages to soldiers deployed overseas.  So will dentists and dental practices including Dr. Svetlana Novak of South Natick Dental, Accent Dentistry on Mendon Street in Bellingham, Wellesley Dental Group on Seaward Road, and Dr. Tina Theroux of Grafton.  Here is a quick video about Operation Gratitude's Candy Buy-Back Program:

Other local dentists offering candy buy-back programs include Dr. Kevin Kelaher of Highland Dental Group in Salem, who will give children a $5 gift card to McDonald's and donate $20 to the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Salem for every pound of candy they bring in.  Dr. Sally Farzaneh, of Sally Farzaneh & Associates in Waltham, will donate $5 to the American Heart Association for every pound of candy turned in.

Still got extra candy on your hands?  Follow these simple instructions to create pretty gift bags for Meals on Wheels or similar organizations.