Wondering what all this Teal Pumpkin business is about?
Here's the details:
The Food Allergy Research & Education group put together a campaign this Halloween to encourage a new tradition to make Halloween a less scary holiday for those families with food allergies.
The idea is that families will paint a pumpkin teal, place it in front of their home with a sign from FARE {available on their site} and offer non-food treats for the trick or treaters who may have an allergy.
Why teal? That's the official food allergy awareness color.
What sorts of non-food treats? Stickers, pencils, tattoos, bubbles, bouncy balls, anything you can think of that is non food and kept seperately than the food you give out on Halloween.
Why non food treats? Because different kids have different allergies. Peanut free might be safe for some kids but other kids can't have the dyes that are in certain candys. Your safest bet to be all inclusive on Halloween is to have non food treat options.
The premise behind the entire campaign is to promote safety, inclusion and respect of individuals managing food allergies – and to keep Halloween a fun, positive experience for all.
Are you planning on participating in the Teal Pumpkin project this Halloween?
{Photo credit: Missy Berggren who writes the blog Marketing Mama, a great resource for food allergy information in the Twin Cities area.}
