Halloween candy
What items can we take?
We can take any candy that is individually-wrapped and free of Halloween branding/designs.
Individually-wrapped candy
Candy bars
Lollipops
Bagged candy
Boxed candy
What isn’t in this category?
Candy wrappers
We can take some plastic candy wrappers in our multi-layer plastic category. Check your multi-layer plastic page for more info!
Open candy
Loose candy
Candy that is expired or past the best by date
Baked goods
Toys
Halloween candy.
Every Halloween, many families end up with extra candy. Halloween candy could come from kids trick-or-treating and getting too much (on average each trick-or-treater consumes 3 cups of sugar!), or it could come from adults who overestimate the number of trick-or-treaters they will get and are left with candy they hope to not get tempted by in the weeks ahead.
Ridwell will pick any extra candy up so it can do good in the community. Instead of getting stale in your cupboard, leftover candy from your home will go to great local partners working on important missions.
Partnering with YWCA Seattle | King | Snohomish
Founded in 1894, YWCA Seattle | King | Snohomish has been breaking down barriers to equity for nearly 130 years. YWCA is the region’s oldest and largest organization focused on the needs of women, providing services and advocacy to support stable homes and economic advancement, reduce violence and improve health, and promote racial equity and social justice. With programs that serve 7,000 people each year, YWCA is on a mission to eliminate racism, empower women, stand up for social justice, help families, and strengthen communities. Through direct services and advocacy, YWCA helps women and families move from surviving to thriving.
Partnering with Transform Burien
As a 501(c)3 organization and community resource center in Burien, Transform is a Christ-centered outreach ministry of churches intentionally serving neighbors in need by providing basic necessities, access to community resources, and a place of friendship, encouragement, hope, and love. Transform welcomes all people to their facility without requiring identification, registration, or other limiting factors. Alongside their clothing and food bank, they offer a range of free services including hot meals, showers, haircuts, laundry and medical and dental services through the King County Mobile Health Clinic and Dental van. Items provided by Ridwell are distributed directly to anyone that comes through their doors in need of essential resources.
Partnering with Downtown Emergency Service Center
DESC (the Downtown Emergency Service Center) serves Seattle's most vulnerable population that is experiencing houselessness by providing housing, behavioral and physical health services, and crisis response. Specifically, DESC focuses on the chronically houseless population that is experiencing mental health and physical health challenges, as well as substance use disorders. Their goal is to help clients achieve their highest potential for independence, self-determination, and personal responsibility.
Partnering with Compass Housing Alliance
Compass Housing Alliance is fighting the problems of homelessness and lack of affordable housing head-on. Through the development and operation of permanent affordable housing with supportive services, expansive 24/7 enhanced shelter programs, and a robust emergency services hub, Compass helps low-income and unhoused individuals and families in our community end the cycle of homelessness.
Compass began more than 100 years ago in Seattle’s Pioneer Square as a haven for those who were working in the region's earliest industries. Today, their range of services includes a hygiene center, mail services, 222 enhanced emergency shelter beds; and 684 affordable studios, one-, two-, and three-bedroom units in 20 affordable supportive housing locations. Unique to Compass is their ability to provide shelter and stability to neighbors in need, regardless of where they may be on their journey to home.
Through all its programs, Compass touches the lives of thousands of individuals, families, and Veterans in King County each year. All of Compass’s housing and services programs are informed by guiding principles of stability, growth, and community.
Partnering with Vashon Food Bank
The Vashon Food Bank was started in the late ‘70s as a small food pantry in the basement of the island’s Presbyterian Church, and received 501(c)3 non-profit status in 1991. Thanks to generous community support, and committed volunteers, the food bank now has the ability to receive, store and distribute thousands of pounds of food every week. While the majority of the food comes from partner agencies like Food Lifeline, in Seattle, the Vashon Food Bank has long been committed to sourcing healthy, locally-grown produce from island farms and gardens. While their service delivery model is flexible, their commitment to the belief that access to nutritious food is a basic human right is unwavering, which is highlighted in their efforts to reduce barriers to access, and stigmatization. Items donated by Ridwell members will help the Vashon Food Bank continue to support their community.
Partnering with Emergency Feeding Program
The mission of Emergency Feeding Program of Seattle & King County (EFP) is to provide an emergency response to the nutritional needs of people in crisis hunger situations throughout Seattle and King County. They are dedicated to alleviating hunger while providing individuals with resources counseling to help move them towards independence.
The EFP was founded in 1977 under the banner of the Black United Clergy for Action and the Church Council of Greater Seattle. The EPF was established specifically to address the following two problems people in need of food assistance were experiencing: (1) the quality of food available tended to depend on the affluence of the neighborhood in which the food bank was located; and (2) it was often difficult, if not impossible, for an individual or family to find everything they needed to make nutritionally balanced meals in a single trip to the food bank.
Partnering with Sustainable Renton
Sustainable Renton is a grassroots nonprofit dedicated to making sustainability accessible, inclusive, and community-driven in Renton and beyond. They believe everyone should have the opportunity to live sustainably, regardless of income or background. Sustainable Renton runs a Food Justice Program, which helps address local food insecurity by rescuing and redistributing surplus food, in addition to maintaining a community garden stewarding an edible food forest planted to serve as a sustainable, shared food source for the community. The organization also aims to empower the community to build a greener, healthier, and more resilient future by bringing people together around shared goals and hosting a wide range of educational workshops. Items donated by Ridwell members will support Sustainable Renton’s work in addressing local food insecurity.
Partnering with Cultivate South Park
Cultivate South Park is a resident-led non-profit organization identifying, connecting, and celebrating neighborhood gifts to co-create a more equitable South Park. Rooted in love and joy, they create innovative solutions in food, environmental issues, arts & culture programming and economic justice. Cultivate is comprised of community members who share a passion for creating space for connection to increase neighbors’ participation in the life of our neighborhood. They specialize in Asset-Based Community Development, identifying, connecting, and celebrating the gifts already present in our neighborhood.
Cultivate South Park is a 501c3 non-profit organization to lend infrastructure to neighbor-led projects like El Mercadito Farmers Market, Cultivating Youth Internship program and the South Park Business District.
Partnering with West Seattle Mutual Aid Party
West Seattle Mutual Aid Party is a self-organized network dedicated to developing relationships with vulnerable neighbors, currently focused in and around the Delridge corridor in West Seattle. They approach their work with the mindset and intention of engaging in mutual aid rather than charity, meaning that they recognize they are neither “saving” nor “serving” anybody but instead are simply acting in solidarity with others. West Seattle Mutual Aid Party is connected with other mutual aid groups and projects to develop an infrastructure that thus far includes a weekly propane swap for the encampment along with food, medical, hygiene, and harm reduction supplies. They are working to build trust with more community members thus allowing them to expand their reach and impact.
Partnering with Tukwila Pantry
Tukwila Pantry is a non-profit food bank established to serve the residents of the cities of Tukwila, SeaTac, and Burien in a humane and dignified way with food and other referral needs. The Tukwila Pantry is committed to providing food for those in need and educating the community on issues surrounding hunger.
Tukwila Pantry has proudly served the community for over 20 years, adapting to each challenge and better providing for those families that have been overwhelmed by extremely difficult circumstances. They know just how big an impact every donation, whether time or money in any amount, helps the people they serve.
With rent, healthcare, and cost of living outpacing household budgets, the Tukwila Pantry has taken this challenge head-on and adapted their methods and infrastructure to meet the need for food security in our communities, serving more than 500 families each day.
Partnering with Food Lifeline
Food Lifeline is on a mission to end hunger in Western Washington. They provided nutritious food to hundreds of thousands of people facing hunger every year by sourcing nutritious food from a variety of partners, including from Ridwell members! We are working with Food Lifeline on a regular basis to bring your stuff new life from takeout utensils to rubber bands to grocery bags.
Join the movement to build a future without waste.
