How Putting Out Teal Pumpkins This Halloween Can Save Childrens’ Lives
Halloween is almost upon us, which means that you’re probably heading to stores soon to pick up candies, pumpkins, and decorations for trick-or-treaters to enjoy. While there, you may wanna pick up some toys and blue-green paint for a pumpkin or two, because those teal pumpkins could help same some lives this holiday.
Photo courtesy of Food Allergy Research and Education (FARE)
By placing teal pumpkins outside of your home, you become a part of the international Teal Pumpkin Project run by the Food Allergy Research and Education (FARE). Inspired by a mother who didn’t want her children to feel left out on Halloween, the project aims to provide non-food treats to kids suffering from food allergies around the world on the holiday.
Homes that have these pumpkins provide glowsticks, stickers, and other fun non-food treats that children can play with, which hopefully prevents them from eating candies that can induce life-threatening allergenic reactions.
As many as six million children in the United States alone suffer from food allergies, a staggering eight percent of the youth population. Research suggests that that number may increase over time, making awareness of these adverse food reactions all the more important.
This year, FARE hopes to get at least one house with teal pumpkins on every block this year to make an allergy-free Halloween more accessible to all. Those interested in participating simply need to paint a pumpkin the requisite color and place it in view so families with kids that have food allergies know which houses they can go to. There are also signs and fliers you can post to indicate that you have non-food treats available.
If you do choose to participate in this project, you could potentially be saving the lives of kids in your neighborhood that might eat life-threatening treats otherwise.
