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A Scottsdale dentist is putting Valley kids in tough spot this Halloween — she’s making them choose between cash or candy.
Dr. Allison Schwartz, founder of Healthy Smiles Dentistry in Scottsdale, is turning Halloween into a business proposition by offering kids cash for their candy at a dollar per pound.
Considering the unemployment rate in Arizona is holding steady at about nine percent, and families are being forced to stretch every dollar, it seems almost evil to bring money into a holiday for children.
Is Schwartz the Grinch who stole Halloween? Not exactly — the candy is being sent to members of the military.
Shawna Hochgraber, Schwartz’s office manager, says on the Sunday after Halloween, kids can bring their candy to Healthy Smiles, where it will be weighed. Kids will be given a dollar for each pound of candy they can bring themselves to part with, and the candy will be sent of to troops serving in the Middle East.
“Kids have cavities, and there is an obesity problem,” she says. “So we’re collecting the candy and shipping it to the Middle East for the troops.”
Not so fast. Any smart kid knows what they can get with money — more candy!
Look at this as a candy-recycling program. Kids can get rid of all the crap they don’t want — the Good ‘N Plenty, the trail mix, the apples — they can then take the money and get Skittles or Jolly Ranchers, you know, the good stuff that can really destroy their little teeth.
Trick or treat, doc — you could be getting scammed by a bunch of kids.
