Halloween celebrations always include dressing up in a costume and candy! I have so many little friends who excitedly anticipate Halloween night and trick-or-treating, including my little friends who have severe food allergies, are on special diets for medical reasons or are unable to eat food by mouth and are supported by tube feedings. The parents of these children work tirelessly to provide and support typical childhood experiences as much as possible. As children get older, they learn about childhood cultural traditions that siblings, cousins and friends do and they want to join in the excitement also.

A fun-filled Halloween night of trick-or-treating can turn into pure disappointment when candy buckets are dumped and sorted upon returning home… Only to realize that from the large loot gathered, you can only safely eat or keep a few of the treats or none at all! Everything else must be thrown away or worse, given to your siblings to eat!

You can help with some very simple things to make some of these children have an enjoyable Halloween and minimize the disappointment. Join the Teal Pumpkin Project!

Set a teal pumpkin on your porch! A teal pumpkin is a sign to families of children with food allergies and feeding difficulties that your house will be handing out non-food treats… stickers, pencils, small toys, glow sticks, temporary tattoos, etc. Many of you are already doing this, but let those families know with your teal pumpkin so they can add another house to their route of safe houses they plan to visit with their children.

My friend, Ryder, loves to dress up in theme with his parents every Halloween. Last year, he dressed up as Toothless from How to Train Your Dragon. His mom and dad dressed up as Vikings. He loves walking the neighborhood and joining in the Halloween fun. Ryder has an extensive list of food allergies and sensitivities that prohibit him from eating all but a very short list of foods. So, it comes to the point that he cannot safely eat ANY Halloween candy. 

His mom, Kim, loves the Teal Pumpkin Project and puts a teal pumpkin on their porch every year. She makes sure she has non-food treats to hand out to trick-or-treaters. When they went trick-or-treating last year in Morgan, Utah, they didn’t see any teal pumpkins in the neighborhoods they were in. Kim wishes more people handed out non-food treats. Ryder loves stickers, little toys and bubbles. Fortunately, Ryder has a sweet grandma that prepares a special non-food treat package for him every Halloween.

Confession: Several years ago I decided to plan ahead for Halloween and buy bulk bags of candy (mostly chocolate since that’s my favorite), but I ate almost all of the candy before Halloween came! Now I buy my non-food treats early and and candy last-minute to avoid my chocolate addictive behaviors! Win-win for any candy addicts like me!

My daughter loves painting a teal pumpkin and insists on adding her own artistic flair. She is excited to paint another this year to set out on the porch to signal anyone who prefers non-food treats. My sons make sure we still hand out candy for anyone else (or eat it themselves before any trick-or-treaters arrive). 

A few tips to keep in mind:

• Set your teal pumpkin out before Halloween night so families can plan to make it to your house.
• Keep food and non-food items in separate containers to avoid allergens touching the non-food items.
• Avoid non-food items with latex or wheat. Some clays contain wheat.
• If you don’t have time to paint a teal pumpkin, click on this link to download and print out a free sign at foodallergy.org.
• You can also add your house address to the Crowd Sourced Fever Map on food allergy.org to let others in your area know you will be participating in the Teal Pumpkin Project.

For more information on the Teal Pumpkin Project, visit foodallergy.org.

Teal and orange compliment each other well, so use both colors for front-porch pumpkin decorating! You can make such a difference for a child who struggles with feeding difficulties with this simple change in your Halloween decorations and treats handed out on Halloween night!