Along with the monsters, skeletons, ghosts and witches, candy is a pretty big part of Halloween. Trick or treating for hours – going house to house to see what yummy treats await has been a long standing Halloween tradition.
But for children that suffer from food allergies, Halloween often leaves them feeling left out and disappointed as they can’t partake in the sugary yumminess. So that is why the folks at Kids With Food Allergies launched The Teal Pumpkin Project!
The Teal Pumpkin Project started two years ago when Becky Basalone and her two young sons first painted a pumpkin teal, she had no idea where that little pumpkin would lead. Becky had recently started FACET (Food Allergy Community of East Tennessee), an AAFA-affiliated support group. The pumpkin was part of her family’s decorations for a local allergist’s “trunk or treat” event. She also brought a scarecrow, a bucket of non-food treats and contact cards for FACET.
When they got back home Becky’s oldest son, who was then five years old, put the teal pumpkin on the porch with the other decorations. Then he put the bowl with the rest of the non-food items by the door next to the bowl of candy. These were mostly gag gift-type items like slime and silly eye glasses. Becky thought that having these available for kids who couldn’t have the candy was a great idea. By the end of the evening, Becky realized that Teal Pumpkins could be a fun thing for others in the support group to do, too.
After that, the teal pumpkin has taken off. Last year photos popped all over social media from around the USA and Canada of people supporting this movement and putting out a teal pumpkin on their porch and having a non-food item for those children that came trick or treating that have food allergies. So now it’s our turn Chestermere!
If you would like to take part in the Teal Pumpkin Project, all you need to do is:
• Paint a pumpkin teal and place it on your porch. This lets other families know that you have non-food treats available at your home.
• Share with your neighbours and on social media that you are participating so that members of our community know that they can bring their child to your home.
• Have your teal pumpkin on display on Halloween and your non-food items ready to hand out.
It’s that simple!
One Chestermere resident says that she plans on getting involved to ensure that all children get to enjoy Halloween. “I’m blessed that none of my children have food allergies, but I can’t imagine how hard it would be to have a child with food allergies and have to decide on whether you take them trick or treating but not let them eat anything they get or just not take them at all. All kids should be able to enjoy Halloween and that’s why we’ll have a teal pumpkin on our porch”.
When Chestermere-Rocky View MLA, Leela Aheer, learned of this initiative, she was thrilled that this has kicked off in Chestermere and confirms that the constituency office will also be participating in The Teal Pumpkin Project on Halloween.
So paint your pumpkin teal and make this Halloween special for all children! And don’t forget to share your teal pumpkin picks on Facebook and Twitter and #keepitteal
