Teal Halloween Pumpkins Signal Food Allergy Awareness

If you see teal pumpkins out on a porch this Halloween, it means that the treats distributed by that home are safe for children with life threatening food allergies.

The Teal Pumpkin Project is a nonprofit group benefiting families with children affected by food allergies.

For those of us who don’t have to worry about food allergies, we take for granted moments like trick-or-treating for delicious sweets, unlike those who do suffer from food allergies and cannot eat the annual treats that kind strangers hand out during Halloween.

In 2014, the Teal Pumpkin Project was created by the Food Allergy and Education Research (FARE) group to create awareness about the serious nature surrounding food allergies, especially for children during holidays such as Halloween when most kids just want to drown in their collected candy.

This year, families are encouraged to place a teal-painted pumpkin on their front porch signaling trick-or-treaters that those treats are of a non-food nature and allergy-safe treats.

Suggested list of non-food items from FARE include: