Q&A: Teal Pumpkin Project aims to make Halloween inclusive for kids with food allergies

Key takeaways:

• About one in 13 children are living with food allergies.
• The Teal Pumpkin Project aims to make holidays more inclusive for children with food allergies, intolerances and medically restricted diets.

For most families, Halloween is a fun night to dress up in costumes and eat a bunch of candy. But families of children with food allergies have to be cautious and inspect treats to avoid allergic reactions.

“These kids are living with knowing that food, something that is harmless to everyone else, could put them into a life-threatening situation,” Kelly Cleary, MD, told Healio. That is why Food Allergy Research and Education (FARE) launched the Teal Pumpkin Project.”

The Teal Pumpkin Project began in 2014 to increase visibility for trick-or-treaters with food allergies. Last year, FARE and CVS Pharmacy worked together during the Halloween season, and this year the partnership will extend through next spring to make nonfood treats available for the entire holiday season.

Kelly Cleary

Healio spoke with Cleary, pediatrician and senior director of education and support programs for FARE, about the impact the Teal Pumpkin Project has had on families and how allergy specialists can get involved.

Healio: Can you provide some background about the prevalence of food allergies in children?

Cleary: Approximately one in 13 children are living with food allergies. When you think about that in schools, that’s about two kids in every classroom. There are many other kids that are impacted by food intolerances or medically restricted diets and other conditions.

Healio: What impact do food allergies have on children’s quality of life?

Cleary: I am a pediatrician, and I am a mom of four, one of whom has multiple anaphylactic food allergies. The impact is really great. I think unless you walk a day in the shoes of someone with food allergies, you likely would not understand the breadth of how food allergies impact these kids. It revolves around inclusivity and having to think every moment, “Am I going to be able to participate?” I always describe it as really understanding what if you could not? What if you could not go to a birthday party and have the cake, or what if you could not have the pizza on pizza Fridays at school? My son just turned 12 years old, and he has never gone to a birthday party and been able to have the food at a birthday party. He has to bring his own.

HealioIn your personal experience as a mom with a child who has food allergies, what is Halloween like for you and your family?

Cleary: This is why this is such a dear project to me, because I have the perspective seeing that for my son with food allergies, it is a lot different than it is for my other three. My other three come back with half a barrel of candy because they are eating on the trail, and they are just accepting everything. For my son, we have talked about the things that will keep him safe, and it means no eating while he is trick-or-treating. He comes home with a bucket full of candy, most of which he probably will not be able to eat.

But when he sees that teal pumpkin, his face lights up, because he knows that it is someone who recognizes that not every trick-or-treater coming to your door looks the same. I think just the acknowledgement of trying to include him makes him happier than whatever it is he is getting from them.

Healio: What is the Teal Pumpkin Project?

Cleary: The Teal Pumpkin Project started in 2014, and it is a movement to raise awareness of food allergies and create a safer, more inclusive Halloween for all trick-or-treaters by making nonfood treats available. In my house, we get glow sticks or slime or little toys to give out, and we keep them in a separate bowl. This is beneficial for kids not just with food allergies, but with food intolerances or medically restricted diets, or other conditions as well. When you put that teal pumpkin on your doorstep, it tells people that you have nonfood items for trick-or-treaters and lets everyone know that you are aware of food allergies.

Healio: What kind of feedback have you received from previous years?

Cleary: The feedback has been wonderful. Last year, FARE joined forces with CVS to really spread the word around, and since that happened, we have seen a surge. We are in 50 states and on six continents in many countries. This is really becoming a movement to make kids feel more included. My family attends a teal pumpkin painting party for the allergy families in our community. It is an event that makes these kids not only feel special, but included on a day that sometimes is not so easy.

Healio: How can allergy specialists participate?

Cleary: At FARE, we have many resources on foodallergy.org that are free: brochures, downloadable posters for offices, tips and tricks for keeping Halloween safe. We have recipe ideas for Halloween, and also nonfood ideas about trinkets and toys.

There are posters that allergists could put up in their office in October. Let families with food allergies know that this is out there.

FARE has a Teal Pumpkin map that we post on our website in October, and people can mark their houses in their neighborhoods to say they will be participating in the Teal Pumpkin Project and will have nonfood treats available. Then families can go back to the map and find other houses that are participating as well. My hope is that someday, we don’t even need the map because every house has a teal pumpkin out there. But for right now, the map allows people to know who else is participating.

Reference:

• FARE and CVS Pharmacy partner for The Teal Pumpkin Project, bringing safe and inclusive offerings to food allergy community. https://www.foodallergy.org/media-room/fare-and-cvs-pharmacy-partner-teal-pumpkin-project-bringing-safe-and-inclusive-offerings. Published Sept. 13, 2023. Accessed Sept. 26, 2023.