Best Posts in Thread: The Teal Pumpkin Project

Well, it's that time of year again: Halloween. With it comes the thing on everyone's mind: candy. However, you may (or may not, depends on area) be seeing these:

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"Back in 2012, a Tennessee mom named Becky Basalone had an idea: What if Halloween could be made a little less tricky for kids with food allergies?

Her idea became what is now the Teal Pumpkin Project, a nationwide effort to encourage families — whether their own kids have food restrictions or not — to offer up some non-food treats on Oct. 31. Participation is simple: You just put a teal-colored pumpkin or sign outside your door and offer trick-or-treaters glow sticks, spider rings, Halloween stickers or other non-food goodies, along with or instead of the traditional candies.

Food Allergy Research & Education (FARE), a non-profit advocacy group, first promoted the idea nationwide in 2014, with the help of a viral Facebook post, says Nancy Gregory, senior director of communications. In 2015, about 1 million people visited the group’s website to get information, and about 10,000 of them — probably a fraction of participants — put their homes on an interactive map showing teal pumpkin sites, she says.
This year, the group is thinking bigger, Gregory says: 'Our goal is to have a home on every block in America with a teal pumpkin. We hope that it becomes a new Halloween tradition.'
An estimated 1 in 13 children has food allergies, she says, and parents are getting used to keeping their needs in mind.

And it’s not just kids with allergies who benefit when food-free treats are available. So do kids with diabetes and those with gluten sensitivity and other food intolerances."
http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/2016/10/23/teal-pumpkin-halloween-food-allergy/92285680/
"Every child should be able to experience the joy and tradition of trick-or-treating on Halloween. But kids with food allergies are often left out of the fun, since most candy is off limits.

FARE’s Teal Pumpkin Project helps make sure all children will come home on Halloween night with something they can enjoy. It just takes one simple act: offering non-food treats, such as glow sticks or small toys, as an alternative to candy.

Last year, households from all 50 states and 14 countries participated. This is a worldwide movement to create a safer, happier Halloween for all trick-or-treaters.


How to Take Part

1. Provide non-food treats for trick-or-treaters.
2. Place a teal pumpkin in front of your home to indicate to passersby that you have non-food treats available.
3. Display a free printable sign or premium poster from FARE to explain the meaning of your teal pumpkin."

About the Teal Pumpkin Project - Food Allergy Research & Education

I speak from experience; allergies can make Halloween one of the most depressing holidays all year; going through bags even at the store, and saying, "Nope, same equipment," "Nah, cross-contaminated," "Not this one: may contain."

Don't get me wrong, it was still enjoyable as an experience overall, but not as much so as the average person.

It's been astounding to see the vast strides even in labeling made over the last two years, as well as the progress in the medical field, but truth is, there are still thousands who struggle with this every year. It's not difficult to do, and it makes all the difference. "Little things don't mean anything; they mean everything."

 

Make a teal pumpkin and put the most popular things children have allergies with in.

 

I would kick someone if they gave me toys instead of candy