The Teal Pumpkin Project Encourages Allergy-Friendly Homes To Go Blue For Halloween
We already told you about how some parents are slapping anti-vaccine stickers on their supply of Halloween candy this year. So here’s a less in-your-face complement to that: teal pumpkins for allergy awareness.
Not all kids can enjoy the peanuty goodness of a Snickers or the richness of a Reese’s, so this Halloween the Teal Pumpkin Project is encouraging parents to paint their porch-step pumpkins teal, to signify the house is candy-free. Instead of sweets, trick-or-treaters will find other offerings: glow sticks, bouncy balls, playing cards, vampire teeth, stickers, and whatever else parents come up with.
“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,” the organization leading the effort, Food Allergy Research and Education, states on its website.
Between four and six percent of all kids in America suffer from one or more food allergies, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, with eight foods making up 90 percent of all serious reactions, including, milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, wheat, soy, peanuts, and tree nuts. Research shows allergy prevalence has increased 18 percent between 1997 and 2007, making it the leading cause of anaphylaxis in community health settings.