“Can I have something out of the treasure chest even if I’m not allergic to candy?” requested an adorable little trick-or-treater last year. I have to be honest, in a million years I would have never thought that stickers, play-dough, silly glasses, etc. would ever be more enticing than candy!! It turns out the Teal Pumpkin Project is impacting far more than just those kiddos with food allergies.
What is the Teal Pumpkin Project?
Launched as a national campaign by Food Allergy Research & Education (FARE) in 2014, the Teal Pumpkin Project™ raises awareness of food allergies and promotes inclusion of all trick-or-treaters throughout the Halloween season.
FARE’s Teal Pumpkin Project™ promotes safety, inclusion and respect of individuals managing food allergies. This nationwide movement offers an alternative for kids with food allergies, as well as other children for whom candy is not an option, and keeps Halloween a fun, positive experience for all!
Last year, households from 50 states and 7 countries participated in the Teal Pumpkin Project™. This year, you can be part of an even bigger movement by joining 100,000 households pledging to participate in the Teal Pumpkin Project™! To Take the Pledge Click Here!
We took the pledge a couple years ago and I am glad we did! The kiddos have so many fabulous friends who have allergies and it always saddened me that they had to miss out on a lot of the fun. Now they don’t have to, they get to be included in all the trick-or-treating fun!! And let’s be honest; with juvenile diabetes on the rise children already consume a lot of sugar in their everyday meals, snacks, and drinks, cutting down on all the Halloween candy is a welcomed idea for all kiddos, not just those with allergies.
For our teal pumpkin we decided we wanted one that would last for more than just one Halloween so we opted for a plastic pumpkin & painted it teal.
We use a treasure chest for all our goodies!! I fill it with party favor type toys that I try to accumulate over the summer (end of summer always has some great deals!).
Each year we seem to give out less candy since we started to incorporate the treasure chest & took the Teal Pumpkin pledge. I am excited to see how the treasure chest goodies are received by our trick-or-treaters this year!!
Have you taken the pledge? What will you be passing out to trick-or-treaters? What are your thoughts on candy, think there will ever come a day when candy is a thing of the past?
Mom on the go in Holy Toledo 