Teal Pumpkin Project Raises Food-Allergy Awareness, Aims for Communities to Give Non-Food Treats to Trick-or-Treaters

You may start to see more and more teal pumpkins around your neighborhood this year as Food Allergy Research & Education (FARE) encourages communities to start a new tradition that will help make this holiday season less scary for children with food allergies: the Teal Pumpkin Project.

The campaign encourages people to raise awareness of food allergies by providing non-food treats for trick-or-treaters and painting a pumpkin teal, which is the color of food allergy awareness, to place in front of their house along with a free printable sign from FARE to indicate they have non-food treats available.

The Teal Pumpkin Project is designed to promote safety, inclusion and respect of individuals managing food allergies – and to keep Halloween a fun, positive experience for all.

According to FARE, researchers estimate that up to 15 million Americans have food allergies, affecting 1 in every 13 children under 18 years of age in the U.S. What is more, a study released in 2013 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found food allergies among children increased approximately 50 percent between 1997 and 2011.

And many kids with food allergies go out to trick-or-treat just like their friends, but they have come to understand that most of their fun will come from dressing up in a costume. They know they’ll give much of their candy away because it’s not safe for them.

FARE hopes the Teal Pumpkin Project becomes a tradition for years to come so that kids will know that when they knock on someone’s door that has a teal pumpkin, they’ll have a treat they can fully enjoy without worrying about their food allergies.

So what can you hand out to trick-or-treaters instead of candy?

Available at dollar stores, party supply stores, or online shops, these low-cost items can be purchased and handed out to all trick-or-treaters, or made available in a separate bowl from candy if you choose to hand out both options.

• 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