I’ve had several people reach out to me asking about the Teal Pumpkin Project – either about what it is, or about how to support it. So let me address both!
The Teal Pumpkin Project was started as a way to show solidarity and support to those that live with food allergies – specifically during Halloween. Teal is the color for food allergies, so having a teal pumpkin outside your house is an indicator that you have non-food treats for trick-or-treaters! It can also be used to signify that your child HAS food allergies if you let them carry a teal pumpkin or bag. You can find out more information about the Teal Pumpkin Project here. On the website, you can even sign up to take the pledge and receive a free certificate that you can hang in your window to show that you have non-food treats for kids!
Over the years, the idea of the teal pumpkins have become widely accepted and you can now find the teal plastic pumpkins just about anywhere! You can find them at Target here or at Walmart here. You can also find more decorative teal pumpkins if you search their websites! Target even has these awesome bags for kids with food allergies to carry as their trick-or-treat bags! One of my best friends picked them up for my daughter!
My husband and I are working a “Spooktacular Walk” in a neighboring town in a few weeks and decided that our table will be completely allergy-friendly. We are going to use a teal table cloth to cover our table, and will only be handing out non-candy items to the kids. It’s so important to be inclusive during the holidays – and Halloween is no exception. I can’t tell you how much it means to me when I see that someone has thought about Asa and other kids like her by including non-food items to keep her safe! One incident of cross-contamination could send her into anaphylactic shock, so the holidays can be scary and nerve wracking for those of us with food allergies. Anything you can do to help put parents like me at ease means more than you know!
Hopefully by now, I’ve convinced you to offer more than just candy for the trick-or-treaters who may come by your house. Now you may be wondering what the heck you should get instead of Snickers or Hersheys bars. Well, I’m here to help! Here are some ideas along with some links for easy purchasing if you’d like. 🤗
- Bubbles
- Jewelry/Glow Sticks
- Stickers
- Erasers/Pencil Toppers
- Mini Toys
- Pencils/Pens/Markers/Crayons
- Bookmarks
- Vampire Fangs
- Stencils
- Mini Notebooks
By no means does this list cover everything, but hopefully it will at least spark some ideas for you!
If you are bound and determined to still offer food treats, consider a few brands that are known for being allergy friendly with the Top 8 allergens. However, it’s important to remember that people can be allergic to things outside of those top 8, and it’s still incredibly important to read ingredients and do your research! Some ideas are:
- Dum Dums suckers – Visit their website here for allergy info.
- Enjoy Life brand candies – Visit their website here to see their options and allergy info! (You can now find these at some retail stores and grocery stores!)
- Pez – Visit their website here for allergy information.
- YumEarth candies – Visit their website here for allergy information. (Please note that their candy corn contains eggs but the rest of their products are free of the Top 8!!!)
I hope that this has helped some of you! And thanks for being inclusive for my kiddo and others like her! 😍
Food Allergies Mom 