Yorktown and Cortlandt region

Dr. Benjamin Dancygier, center, and his staff at Valley Pediatric Dentistry in Jefferson Valley collected more than 900 pounds of candy at his office collected for “Operation Support our Troops.”

That beats last year, when he first took part in the Halloween Candy Buy Back, by about 750 pounds.

The idea was for his patients or anyone else to bring their candy to his Hill Boulevard practice a few days after Halloween and he would pay them $1 per pound of Halloween candy donated.

The Halloween Candy Buy Back Program was popularized by a Wisconsin dentist in 2006 and has grown into a nationally organized program.

The candy Dancygier collected was to be delivered to troops in Iraq by Rhode Island-based Operation Support Our Troops as part of holiday shipments going out in December. The nonprofit group routinely sends care packages, notes of support and hard-to-find items to troops.

“I think we’re just trying to promote good dental habits for kids in the area,” Dancygier said last month. “I think these soldiers out there getting these care packages, it means a lot to them.”

The father of an 8-year-old and a 5-year-old, Dancygier said he appreciates the appeal to parents of a way to limit candy consumption at Halloween. The pairing of a good cause and a small financial incentive does the trick when it comes to the treats.

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