Twenty-Seven - Halloween Candy

This year will be our first year with real potential of having trick or treaters. I'm excited, but at the same time, not excited about having to go to Target (which we are boycotting due to the money given by Target Corp owners to an anti-gay agenda--find out more at the Human Rights Campaign) and buy a bunch of candy, wrapped individually in lots of plastic, with the chocolate industry how it is (deforestation, sustainability issues, child labor), and all of the issues with childhood obesity, etc, etc! MPR recently dedicated an entire hour to chocolate industry.


Still, I don't want that from discouraging Guthrie and me from participating in this fun, American past-time. When at Seward the other day, they had an awesome end of the aisle displayed with a creative answer -- and it does not mean that we have to hand out dental floss and be the house that the kids quickly learn to avoid. Besides the sustainable and organic chocolate, they had one of my favorite treats, fruit leather, on display, as well as fall themed fruit snacks. They are sugary, but not nearly as much as the chocolate and hard candy they will be eating, they have no artificial sweeteners, and they have some nutritional value, unlike a 3 Musketeers. The Annie's Bunny Fruit could also be used in Easter Baskets :) If you want some (I love fruit snacks!), come trick or treat at our place on Halloween.

According to The Green Year, Americans spend $21 million on Halloween candy every year--more than on Easter and Valentine's Day combined. Think about all of the waste created from the little wrappers. If you don't want to be the house with the organic stuff, you can give out candy like Dots or Nerds with cardboard containers that could potentially be recycled and are a least decompose faster if throw away. You could also be that cool house that gives away cans of pop -- that can be recycled. Maybe even put a note in a sharpie reminding kids to recycle their cans. 

Peace!