Teal Pumpkin Project

This Sunday is Halloween and so many kids are excited about getting their candy. Here's something that I hadn't really thought about before and that is "What about the children that have food allergies?"

Get our free mobile app

It came to my attention after the story I did about the blue Halloween candy bucket. Then I was asked if I had heard of the "Teal Pumpkin Project?" This is a national effort by the Food Allergy Research and Education (FARE) group to help make Halloween safe for kids with terrible food allergies.

85 million Americans overall are impacted by food allergies, including 32 million who have a potentially life-threatening condition. For the kids, one in 13 live with food allergies. I know several young ones that have to watch what's in their food but I never thought how that could affect them for Halloween.

The Teal Pumpkin Project

FARE has come up with the "Teal Pumpkin Project" as a way to help them have a fun and (more importantly) safe night. Here is how you can help. You are encouraged to paint a pumpkin (or two) teal and let them know that you are having non-food items for your treat.

Put the teal pumpkin on your doorstep so everyone will know that in addition to the candy, you'll also be offering up non-food trinkets. It could be a little toy, games, or stickers. This project began a few years ago and has really taken off.

If your child has a food allergy, it might not be a bad idea to get them a Teal pumpkin candy bucket. If you are looking for some ideas or guidance, go here and see what the Teal Pumpkin Project can do for you and help make it a non-scary Halloween for these kids.

LOOK: How Halloween has changed in the past 100 years

Stacker compiled a list of ways that Halloween has changed over the last 100 years, from how we celebrate it on the day to the costumes we wear trick-or-treating. We’ve included events, inventions, and trends that changed the ways that Halloween was celebrated over time. Many of these traditions were phased out over time. But just like fake blood in a carpet, every bit of Halloween’s history left an impression we can see traces of today.