There is a new breed of pumpkin appearing on doorsteps this Halloween.
After seeing some jack-o-lanterns that were looking a little blue in the face, we looked up the Teal Pumpkin Project to see what it is all about.
It is a movement to support children with food allergies.
The campaign was launched by the US based Food Allergy Research and Education (FARE) in 2014 to raise awareness about food allergies and promote inclusion of all trick-or-treaters. It was inspired by the grassroots initiative of a Tennessee mom who started a food allergy support group.
The project is promoted in this country by Food Allergy Canada. According to them, about 300,000 Canadian children under 18 years have food allergies.
The idea is to show support for those with allergies by painting a pumpkin teal and placing it at the front door indicating you are handing out non-food items for trick-or-treaters. FARE recommends handing out glow sticks, small toys, stickers, that kind of thing.
It is a very nice idea and raises awareness about something that people who don’t have food allergies may not have given much thought.
We all remember the disappointment of getting a pencil dropped in our treat bag on Halloween night, but we are living in a different world now.
According to a study released in 2013 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, children’s food allergies rose about 50 per cent between 1997 and 2011.
Food Allergy Canada says food allergies are a growing public health issue in Canada.
Approximately 2.5 million Canadians report having at least one food allergy. The incidence is highest among young children under three, with six to eight per cent affected by food allergies and about one in 50 children in Canada have peanut allergies.
“No one really knows why food allergies are on the rise, but they are,” says Food Allergy Canada. “One theory, known as the ‘hygiene hypothesis’, suggests that people living in western countries are living in cleaner and more sanitized environments. The immune system – exposed to fewer germs than our bodies are used to dealing with – mistakenly identifies certain foods as harmful. Genetics also play a role in the development of food allergies; for example, if one parent has allergies, their child has a greater risk of developing allergies as well. Much research is being done into the cause, and the potential treatment, of food allergies.”
So yes, these are scary times for parents of children with food allergies, especially at Halloween. The children obviously don’t want to stay at home while everyone else dresses up and goes door-to-door and miss out on all the fun.
With schools being nut-free, most parents are aware that there are pre-packaged peanut-free treats readily available in stores. But maybe we need to go a step further, realizing those may not be options for children with more complex allergies and food sensitivities. We should look for options, avoiding a bunch of made-in-China landfill. Those pencils we were so dissatisfied with as children can’t be the answer.