Many households in the United States will be displaying blue-painted pumpkins on lawns and porches for Halloween this year, to indicate that trick-or-treating at the home is safe for children who have food allergies.
It's part of a project initiated by the Virginia-based nonprofit group Food Allergy Research & Education, or FARE, to raise awareness of food allergies and promote offering non-food treats for trick-or-treating children.
The Teal Pumpkin Project is being suggested as a new tradition by the Virginia-based nonprofit Food Allergy Research & Education (FARE), aimed at raising raise awareness about food allergies by providing non-food treats for trick-or-treaters.
"Halloween can be a tricky time - quite literally - for families managing food allergies because many traditional Halloween treats aren't safe for children with life-threatening food allergies," the organizers said in a statement.
Around six million children in the United States are having to manage food allergies, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says.
"Chances are, there's a child in every neighborhood managing food allergies .... Children managing other diseases in which candy represents a problem -- like diabetes and celiac disease -- also benefit" from the pumpkin project, says Veronica LaFemina, vice president of communications for FARE.
The Teal Pumpkin Project asks homeowners to paint a pumpkin in the dark blue-green color that has long been associated with food allergy awareness.
FARE has suggested homeowners participating in the Teal Pumpkin Project can offer non-food, non-edible treats such as glow sticks and glow bracelets, whistles, stickers or Halloween-themed pencils and erasers for children with allergies alongside traditional candy treats for children without food allergies.
Parents looking for locations participating in the program can check a special Google map prepared by FARE.
The group emphasized it did not intend its project to be in any way "anti-candy."
"It is not our goal to exclude candy from the Halloween tradition but instead encourage others to add a new tradition to also provide a few non-food items as a safe alternative," it said.
"We hope the Teal Pumpkin Project becomes a tradition for years to come so that kids will know that when they knock on someone's door that has a teal pumpkin, they'll have a treat they can fully enjoy."
