The Teal Pumpkin Project Helps Trick-or-Treating Kids with Food Allergies

For most kids, Halloween is a time of gathering as many sugar-filled snacks as they possibly can. There are a minority of children, however, where parents must check their kids’ Halloween trick-or-treat bag filled with goodies for more than general safety reasons. Children with food allergies can end up with a bag filled with life-threatening treats rather than sugar-laden goodies sure to have them bouncing off the walls for weeks to come.

About the Teal Pumpkin Project

For this reason, the Teal Pumpkin Project was born. Started by Food Allergy Research and Education (FARE), teal-colored pumpkins on doorsteps signify to trick-or-treaters that there are safe goodies for kids with food allergies at that residence. Children’s food allergies can include nuts, wheat, eggs, milk, and soy.

According to FARE, approximately 5.9 million children under age 18 have a food allergy. That is about two children in every school classroom (1 in 13). Additionally, FARE states that one US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) report shows the number of children with food allergies increased around 50 percent between 1997 and 2011. There is no known clear reason as to why this dramatic increase has occurred. Children that are affected by a food allergy are 2 to 4 times more likely to have other allergies and health problems as well.

Childhood allergies are not a problem in the United States alone, the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI) reports that in the past ten years severe food allergy reactions in children resulting in hospital admissions have gone up seven-fold.

Further, FARE notes that the CDC cites more than 300,000 ambulatory-care hospital visits annually by children under age 18 due to food allergies. Outside of a hospital setting, anaphylaxis is more often caused by food allergy, with teens and young adults being at the greatest risk of fatal food-induced anaphylaxis.

Teal Pumpkin Project Suggestions

What are safe treats to give to children with a food allergy? Non-food items are often a huge hit with children and the following are some of the non-food goodies recommended by FARE on its Teal Pumpkin Project page:

• Bubbles
• Crayons, pencils, markers, erasers
• Mini Slinkies
• Spider rings
• Vampire Fangs
• Stickers
• Glow sticks, necklaces, and bracelets
• Bookmarks
• Bouncy balls
• Mini Notepads

Other fun items to give trick-or-treaters include Play-Doh, sticky bugs, mini-coloring books, and small party favors. Some candy treats that may be safe for kids with food allergies include Nerds, Dum-Dums, Tootsie roll products, Fun Dip, Lifesavers, and Smarties. You may also consider downloading and printing FREE coloring pages to give to kids with allergies. These can prove to be great fun and don’t cost you more than a bit of ink. Here are a few FREE printable Halloween coloring pages:

(Download and print)

(Download and print)

(Download and print)

For Parents of Children With Allergies

If you are a parent of a child with a food allergy, it is important to keep a close eye on your child on Halloween. The Teal Pumpkin Project announced the following recommendations for trick-or-treating with food allergies:

How to Support the Teal Pumpkin Project

If you’d like to support the Teal Pumpkin Project this Tuesday you’ll need to display that you have allergy-friendly treats inside. You can download free resources on the project’s website. You can download flyers to display that you have non-food options for trick-or-treaters. You can also simply paint a pumpkin teal and place it on your porch. Other downloadable and printable information is also available free of charge from the website.

Once you’ve printed out your flyer or prepped your pumpkin, you’ll want to add your house to the Teal Pumpkin Project map. Because not everyone knows about the Teal Pumpkin Project or the severity of food allergies in children, not every house will have something to offer kids impacted by allergies. Putting your house on the map ensures that the kids in the area will be able to find your allergy-friendly home.

You can further help the Teal Pumpkin Project by donating as well. Donations made to the project support research, education, advocacy, and awareness programs for individuals with allergies throughout the United States.

While it isn’t something that most of us probably think of when we buy Halloween candy, having the option of an alternative to candy for kids allows them to enjoy the fun of Halloween without possibly putting their life at risk. You may consider adding some allergy-friendly treats to your offerings this year.

(Download the Teal Pumpkin Project Flyer above here.)