What is the Teal Pumpkin Project®?

The Teal Pumpkin Project encourages people to raise awareness of food allergies and promotes inclusion of all trick-or-treaters throughout the Halloween season. The steps to participate are:

• Provide non-food treats for trick-or-treaters.
• Place a teal pumpkin – the color of food allergy awareness –in front of your home to indicate you have non-food treats available.
• Display a free printable sign or premium poster from FARE to explain the meaning of your teal pumpkin.

Why is this important?

Halloween can be a tricky time for families managing food allergies. Many traditional Halloween treats aren’t safe for children with life-threatening food allergies. The Teal Pumpkin Project promotes safety, inclusion and respect of individuals managing food allergies. This worldwide movement offers an alternative for kids with food allergies, as well as other children for whom candy is not an option. It keeps Halloween a fun, positive experience for all!

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Coping with Food Allergies and Special Diets During the Holidays

Sharing food is thought to be one of the ways that we create bonds and strengthen relationships. While that may be true for most people, the season for gathering around the dinner table is fraught with stress and anxiety for many who have food allergies and special diets.

It seems that we are more aware than ever of the ways that food can make and keep us healthy or contribute to illness and disease. Current research indicates that the food in developing countries is being genetically modified to be more appealing which results in a wide range of health consequences.

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Learn more about the relevance of mast cells in food allergies and sensitivities. A few helpful articles and resources are listed below:

"Disordered Mast Cells, and the Clues to Food Allergy" —Allergic Living, Nicole Smith of AllergicChild.com

"The Two Faces of Mast Cells in Food Allergy and Allergic Asthma: The Possible Concept of Yin Yang" —Science Direct, Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Molecular Basis of Disease

Food Allergies Resources & Articles —Mast Attack

"High prevalence of Food Allergies in Patients with Ehlers-Danlos Syndromes" —American Society for Human Genetics

"Food Allergy Meets the Teenage Brain" —Allergic Living

"Mast cells and basophils are essential for allergies: mechanisms of allergic inflammation and a proposed procedure for diagnosis" —PubMed Central