Ah yes, fall is in full swing, especially here in New Hampshire. The leaves are changing, front lawns are turning into spooky graveyards, and pumpkins are everywhere! If you spot a teal pumpkin it could mean something very special to those with type 1 diabetes or people with food allergies. Let me explain…

The Teal Pumpkin Project

In 2014 FARE (Food Allergy Research & Education) launched a national campaign called the Teal Pumpkin Project. Their goal is to help make sure every child (including those with food allergies) are able to experience the fun of trick-or-treating on Halloween.

Houses that place a teal pumpkin in front of their house indicate that they have non-food treats available. Last year households from all 50 states and 14 countries participated. Which is pretty rad!
The goal of the Teal Pumpkin Project isn’t to exclude candy from the Halloween tradition, as Teal pumpkin houses can still offer candy, it’s just to make sure that there are other options for kids living with food allergies – or those whom candy is not an option.

How to Participate

If this sounds awesome to you then help join the cause! Here’s what you’ll need to do:

1. Get some non-food teats.

In addition to candy, get some non-food treats to hand out to trick-or-treaters. FARE has a whole list of ideas (see them on their website here)! Some of my favorite ideas are:

1. Glow sticks, bracelets, or necklaces
2. Crayons or markets
3. Stickers
4. Bubbles
5. Mini slinkies
6. Bouncy Balls
7. Vampire Fangs

2. Get a pumpkin and paint it teal.

White pumpkins come out the best, but orange ones work great too. You can get fancy with it, you can leave it plain teal, or you can even write ‘teal pumpkin’ project on it!

There are so many neighborhoods that participate! Just look at the map! Click Map to zoom in.

Want to take it a step further?

• Register your neighborhood as a neighborhood that has a Teal Pumpkin house so people know which neighborhoods are participating. REGISTER YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD HERE
• Make a donation to support the Teal Pumpkin Project
• Go to a Teal Pumpkin event in your area
• Spread the word by using #tealpumpkinproject and talking to your neighbors, colleagues, family, and friends about the movement

Question of the Day

What are some of your favorite non-food items to hand out?