Have you heard about the Teal Pumpkin Project? The program was launched in 2014 by Food Allergy Research and Education (FARE) to raise awareness of food allergies and promote the inclusion of all trick-or-treaters during the Halloween season. Children with food allergies frequently are unable to fully enjoy or experience celebrations like Halloween that are heavily filled with food. Traditional candy treats often contain peanuts, tree nuts, and other potential allergens.
Participants in the Teal Pumpkin Project pledge offer a non-food treat to trick-or-treaters to provide safe treats to kids with allergies, which as a result, includes everyone. All you need to do is paint a pumpkin teal or purchase one and place it outside of your home to let parents and children know that they can get a safe treat this Halloween.
FARE also has signs and other materials that you can download to help let others know about your pledge. FARE also has a list of non-food treats that you can include such as:
- Glow sticks, bracelets, or necklaces
- Pencils, pens, crayons or markers
- Bubbles
- Halloween erasers or pencil toppers
- Mini Slinkies
- Whistles, kazoos, or noisemakers
- Bouncy balls
- Finger puppets or novelty toys
- Coins
- Spider rings
- Vampire fangs
- Mini notepads
- Playing cards
- Bookmarks
- Stickers
- Stencils
You can still give out candy, but make sure the candy is separated from the non-food treats. Take the pledge today and help make Halloween and safe and fun time for everyone!
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Jennifer Pullman, MA, RD lives outside of Philadelphia and works with weight loss surgery patients. She blogs at Nourished Simply and Bariatric Bits.
