Pumpkins come in all shapes and sizes, but you mostly see them the traditional fall colors like orange, white, and green. Until now! You may start seeing your neighbors’ stoops donning a teal pumpkin this Halloween and many parents will be very thankful. Food Allergy Research & Education (FARE) started the Teal Pumpkin Project in 2014 to raise awareness of food allergies. Food allergies continue to be a growing public health issue and 1 in 13 children in the United States has a food allergy. This can make Halloween especially stressful for families as many popular candies contain nuts, milk, egg, soy, or wheat, all of which are common allergens. Not to mention, many of the miniature size candy bars don’t list ingredients on their labels which makes it even harder to determine if they are safe.
The Teal Pumpkin Projects promotes a safer and happier Halloween by encouraging households to provide non-food treats as an option for trick-or-treaters who need to avoid candy due to food allergies or other reasons. All you need to do to participate is place a teal pumpkin in front of your house. If you don’t want to paint a pumpkin, there are other options to display your teal pumpkin, like a poster or sign on your front door. Last year, households from 50 states and 7 countries participated in the Teal Pumpkin Project. This year, the goal is to have 100,000 households pledge to participate.
Are you ready to support children with food allergies? Take the pledge now and share your photos on social media with the hashtag #TealPumpkinProject. I hope to start seeing teal pumpkins all over Orlando in the coming weeks!
The TEAL PUMPKIN PROJECT and the Teal Pumpkin Image are trademarks of Food Allergy Research & Education (FARE).
[…] your kids have food allergies or just generally overwhelmed by the amount of candy kids get each year, it’s always a great […]