If your child has a food allergy or sensitivity, be on the lookout for teal pumpkins this Halloween. The Teal Pumpkin Project began with one mother who wanted allergic children to have a great Halloween experience. https://www.foodallergy.org/our-initiatives/awareness-campaigns/teal-pumpkin-project It was later adopted by Food Allergy Research & Education (FARE) and made a national initiative.
The idea is to provide non-food Halloween treats in teal pumpkins that are easily identified. This means an allergic child can go directly to treats that are safe for them. There’s no standing around feeling like the odd man out.
In general, filling a teal pumpkin with non-food treats is simplest for everyone because no labeling or label reading is required. One of the things that makes Halloween hard for the allergic is individually wrapped candy often has no ingredient list other than on the outside packaging. Once candy goes in a host’s bowl, there’s no label available for trick-or-treaters to check.
If your child is especially prone to feeling different, you may want to solicit help from friends and neighbors. Encourage them to participate in the teal pumpkin project. In addition, provide each one with a small bag filled with safe edible treats marked with your child’s initials. Text when you’re about to arrive and have them place the bag on the top of the teal pumpkin.
If you have a trick-or-treat route filled with teal pumpkin providers who choose non-food treats, you can also have a special pumpkin at home that has plenty of safe, edible treats for the end of the evening.
Your family might also choose to make some treats together like cake-ball spiders, lava cake dino-destroying mountains, popcorn balls, or caramel apples. The specifics will have to work within your child’s particular restrictions, but the memory-building family time can make everyone feel included.
Adapt your child’s favorites into scary appearance and ramp up the atmosphere by using Halloween themed serve ware. Don’t worry about perfection or trying to do too much. Going overboard can make a kid feel just as different as leaving them out.
The idea is just to let the child see that they are seen, considered, accepted, accommodated, and welcome as part of the family, crew, troupe, or friend group. I know that probably sounds like a duh statement, but othering from adults is an everyday occurrence. And children follow their example.
In spite of its national presence, your community, neighborhood may not yet participate in the Teal Pumpkin Project. In my city of 207,000, there’s currently one household on listed on the Teal Pumpkin Project map. Households may be rare in your area as well.
You can change that by becoming a Community Captain https://www.foodallergy.org/take-action/teal-pumpkin-project/teal-pumpkin-project-community-captain You’ll find many resources for getting started on the website.
Even if you don’t have time to be a Community Captain, you can add yourself to Teal Pumpkin Project map, print out one of the free participant signs or flyers, or mix a few non-food treats into your regular candy bucket.
My Halloween focus again this year is offering Breakfast Bags of nutritious food in addition to candy for anyone who wants one. Last year, I ran out in 30 minutes and had to throw together a few more from items in my pantry.
This state has the highest percentage of food insecure children in the nation. Allergies and sensitivities are a big deal. They can be life-threatening. Starvation is life-threatening as well.
No matter how you may view adults in your community, hunger and allergies are never a child’s fault. Providing for them is the least we can do. Please consider a teal pumpkin.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
