As I was walking around a home goods store the other day, I noticed that there are lots of teal pumpkins kicking around, mixed in with the other fall and Halloween décor. They were all super cute and I loved how they looked next to the more traditional decorations. I sure many of you have seen them and felt the same way. Maybe some of you even bought some and have teal pumpkins up next to your skeletons and scarecrows. Good for you. I’m sure your home is so festive!
Looking at those teal pumpkins though, I was reminded of something that many people don’t seem to know about: the Teal Pumpkin Project.
The Teal Pumpkin Project
The Teal Pumpkin Project is an initiative of FARE (Food Allergy Research and Education). The initiative “is a simple way to make trick-or-treating safer and more inclusive for the one in 13 children living with food allergies, and many others impacted by intolerances and other conditions” (FARE).
FARE’s mission is to improve the quality of life and the health of individuals with food allergies, and to provide them hope through the promise of new treatments.
https://www.foodallergy.org/
All you have to do is place a teal pumpkin on your doorstep. This is a signal to those with food allergies that there are non-food treats available for them to safely enjoy. Some people choose to only hand out non-food treats. Other choose to have one bowl of traditional candy and another one with small trinkets and toys. Your call. Either way, it means a lot to children and their families who want to participate in festivities but worry about their safety due to sometimes life-threatening allergies.
Want to learn more about food allergies? Check out my post None under One: Honey versus Food Allergens.
What kinds of non-food goodies do you hand out?
When it comes to non-food goodies, you might be stumped for a minute. But just think about the kinds of toys that are handed out as children’s party favors–trinkets for pennies. Or take a walk down the party favors section of your local dollar store. Or even search for Halloween party favors on Amazon.
Here’s some ideas to get you started:
- tiny glow sticks
- sticker sheets
- temporary tattoos
- sticky hands
- spider rings
- miniature coloring sheet
- glow-in-the-dark skeleton figurine
- spooky necklace
- tiny jars of nail polish
How else can I be involved?
The Teal Pumpkin Project has another way that you can participate in their initiative. On their website, you can find an interactive map that will allow you to register your home as a participant in the Teal Pumpkin Project. This allows trick-or-treaters with allergies to find safe places to visit in advance.
Right now, most areas just have a sprinkling of participants (or none at all). But, together, we can change that! If you’re planning on offering non-food treats, also consider registering and spreading the word.
So, what do you think? Do you think you might consider offering some non-food treats this year? And, if you don’t plan on having non-food treats available (which is totally fine), do you think you could save your super cute teal pumpkins for inside your house? That would be amazingly helpful and save some confusion for these families on Halloween night. Thank you. xoxoxo
Happy Fall and Happy Halloween! Be safe and have fun. 🙂
Hello! I’m Briana!
I live in Utah with my little family of men-folks: two little dudes and one big dude (and now one dudette!) I am a Pediatric Speech-Language Pathologist and Early Childhood Specialist by training, a mother by choice, and a blogger by a desire to share with each of you the knowledge gained from those first two facts. Parenting is a crazy rollercoaster with daily ups and down. My goal is to provide information that can help to lighten your load so that you can more fully enjoy the ride. Read more about me here and more about my qualifications here. Thanks for visiting and don’t hesitate to be in touch! Happy Parenting! xoxoxo