Teal Pumpkin Project: It Takes A Village

Autumn is certainly in full swing, and change is in the air. New classes, friends, and activities are a staple for this time of year. Through these changes in environment and relationships, you will almost certainly encounter someone who has food allergies. 

Food allergies may be more common than you think.

One in 13 children has a food allergy. This means that when the child consumes their allergen, their bodies view that allergen as a dangerous threat and reacts. Symptoms of an allergic reaction include: hives, swelling, nausea, vomiting, trouble breathing, and dizziness. Severe symptoms indicate that the body is shutting down; also known as anaphylactic shock. People at risk for an anaphylactic reaction carry an EpiPen in case they accidentally ingest their allergen.

Speaking as a food allergy mom (we manage almost 10 life-threatening food allergies), it is a terrifying thing to witness your child’s body shutting down right before your eyes. I wouldn’t wish that, or the helpless feelings accompanying it, on anyone. Living with and managing a life-threatening food allergy is difficult physically, financially, and emotionally. I don’t know how we would do it without our village of family and friends dedicated to helping us keep our kids safe.

You have an important place in the village.

Navigating classroom celebrations, school lunches, and birthday parties can be a HUGE challenge for those of us managing food allergies. But like most challenges, the more people who are on the same page with the same goal, the easier it is. 

If you have school aged children, you were possibly asked not to pack nuts in his or her lunch this year. I understand the initial exasperation you may have felt. It is completely overwhelming!  But think of it this way: you are part of the village committed to providing a safe learning environment for all children. Because of you, a child managing food allergies (and his or her parents) can breathe a tiny bit easier. That small sacrifice makes a HUGE impact.  

The food allergy parent toes a very, very thin line. One one hand, you want to make sure your child is safe. One the other hand, you want to make sure your child has as “normal” of a childhood as possible. We don’t want to transfer our anxiety on our children, but at the same time we want them to know how important food safety is and learn how to keep themselves safe in a culture that has certainly centered itself around food. 

The Teal Pumpkin Project

Halloween is one of the most challenging holidays for the food allergy community. For the sake of not ruining the trick or treat experience, our kids receive a bunch of candy that can make them very sick or even kill them. Most food allergy parents replace the candy they receive with a safe option for their children, which can be a lot of work. Some choose not to celebrate at all.

For food allergic kids the scariest part about Halloween is not the costumes, ghosts or creepy-crawlies. For 1 in 13 kids, the scariest part of Halloween is by far, the candy. All kids who participate in Halloween, deserve to do so without fear.

There is a way that you can be part of the village keeping food allergy kids safe this Halloween.  It’s called the Teal Pumpkin Project. 

Food Allergy Research & Education describes the Teal Pumpkin Project as,

“Raising awareness of food allergies and promoting inclusion of all trick-or-treaters throughout the holiday season.”

Here’s how it works: 

1. Purchase Non-edible treats to hand out this Halloween. You can get a plethora of wonderful ideas here. Stickers, bubbles, pencils and glow sticks are all great choices. The dollar store is an inexpensive place to get some inspiration.
2. Get your teal pumpkin ready! You can either purchase a plastic teal pumpkin (I have seen some at Walmart) or make painting a real pumpkin a fun family project! Party City has these Teal Pumpkin Project kits for sale. Seems like it’s just a bottle of teal paint and a sponge, but that still makes this food allergy mom happy!
3. Make sure you put your teal pumpkin where trick-or-treaters can see it! Believe me, food allergic kids will know exactly what it means and will be thrilled there are safe goodies to choose from.

I hope you plan to make the Teal Pumpkin Project a staple in your Halloween preparations. Doing so can encourage dialogue with your children about inclusiveness and looking out for the safety of others. Participating in the Teal Pumpkin Project is also a wonderful way to take your place as part of the village keeping the growing food-allergy population safe.