What Happened After the Candy Trade-In
Where the Candy Went After Our Door County Candy Trade-In
On October 24, 2025, we published a blog announcing our first-ever Candy Trade-In event. If you missed it, here's the link to the original Candy Trade-In blog post.
The idea was simple:
Kids bring in Halloween candy.
We trade it for real food.
On November 1st, from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., families showed up at DENN of Door County with buckets of candy. Kids traded it in for freeze-dried fruit and cheese. It was a good day. Busy, a little chaotic, and exactly what we hoped it would be.
But once the event ended, we were left with a question:
What do we do with all the candy?
We Didn't Want It to Go to Waste
We had pounds of it.
Not something we sell.
Not something we planned to keep.
Around that same time, we had been emailing with a soldier from Wisconsin, SGT Addison Robles, who was deployed overseas with his unit.
His original message stuck with us:
“Having a taste of home would mean a lot to us out here… a great boost to morale.”
At first, he had just asked about freeze-dried cherries.
But now we had something more to send.
Packing the Boxes
We reached back out and asked a simple question:
How many people are we sending this to?
His answer:
“My squad has 10 guys in it total :)”
So we packed for ten.
The boxes included:
- The Halloween candy collected from the event
- EverlastingEats freeze-dried snacks
- A few extra items we thought might be useful
Nothing complicated. Just a solid care package.
We shipped it out and hoped it made it.
The First Message Back
A few days later, we heard from him again.
“It’s our first care package since boots on ground… a huge moral boost to my soldiers.”
That was the first confirmation that it got there.
Then more messages came in as they had time to check email.
“My guys love it and it was a massive moral boost.”
“The treats were a huge reminder of home.”
One line stood out more than anything:
“As a parent myself I appreciated the letter and homemade pictures… going to hang them with my kids pictures.”
That’s the kind of thing you don’t expect when you’re packing boxes in a workspace in Door County.
Not Everything Goes as Planned
We were told they’d send photos.
“I’ll get my guys… and get a squad photo to send to y’all.”
And later:
“I’ll send those pictures… it’s a huge morale boost when we get packages.”
But deployments don’t work on a clean schedule.
Limited WiFi.
Time off base.
Missions.
We never ended up receiving the photos.
And honestly, that’s not surprising.
Why We’re Sharing This Anyway
It would be easy to wait until we had pictures.
But that’s not really the point.
The point is what actually happened:
- Candy collected from kids in Door County
- Packed into boxes
- Sent overseas
- Opened by a group of Wisconsin soldiers
And based on what they told us, it mattered.
“You have no idea how much of a boost to morale this was.”
That’s enough for us.
The Snacks That Felt Like Home
The freeze-dried snacks in those care packages are the same ones we sell every day — real ingredients, no artificial junk, made to last. If you want to try what SGT Robles’ squad called “a huge reminder of home,” they’re right here.
🍒 Shop Freeze-Dried Montmorency Cherries
🍏 Shop Freeze-Dried Honeycrisp Apples
🧀 Shop Wisconsin Cheese Curd Bites
