Photos by Stephanie Klein-Davis | The Roanoke Times

Max Pardon, 4, of Roanoke County indulges in a last lollipop before he and his brother, Jacob Pardon, 6, "sold" some of their Halloween candy.

John Wallace, 7 (left), son of dentist Caroline Wallace, and Arik Fick, 9, a contributor, tote a box of donations on Sunday during the candy buyback.

SALEM -- Will trick-or-treat for cash.

That was the attitude of dozens of children and parents who brought sack after sack of Halloween candy to the area's first candy buyback sponsored by Salem dentist Caroline Wallace.

Wallace, her staff and some of her patients staffed the event on South Colorado Street, which offered $1 per pound for Halloween candy. The goodies will go into Christmas packages to be sent to U.S. troops overseas.

Wallace said she patterned her event on the national Halloween Candy Buy Back program. Other events were scheduled in Lexington and Abingdon, according to the national Web site.

Despite cold rain and overcast skies, Wallace's group collected about 80 pounds of candy in the first half-hour of the scheduled two-hour event.

"I like money more than candy," 6-year-old Jacob Pardon of Roanoke County said as he hefted a spider-themed bag of candy to the scale.

His mom, Nicole Pardon, said she was matching the $1 per pound buyback rate, for a total of $2 per pound of candy her sons turned over.

Max Pardon, 4, delivered a plastic pumpkin full of treats to the dentist's office, but he couldn't resist a last lollipop.

"Can I eat it now?" he asked his mom.

Most kids brought in between 4 and 5 pounds of candy. But Corey Hughes of Vinton sold 7.75 pounds to Wallace.

Corey, 9, said he worked hard to collect all that candy and planned to save his money.

Wallace said she anticipated spending about $1,500 on the buyback event. Other local businesses and organizations provided door prizes for the children, including a one-month free gym membership and free admission to a skating rink.

Wallace said she hoped the event would raise awareness about the consequences of the overconsumption of sugar, including childhood obesity, diabetes and periodontal disease.

Sugar is no longer an occasional treat, Wallace said. "The kids are inundated with it."