Making Halloween Safe for Children with Food Allergies.

A favorite activity to participate on Halloween for children, especially in Joliet, is to trick-or-treat to receive candy. For some children that have life-threatening food allergies, their options tend to be limited when it comes to trick-or-treating.

According to Fox News Chicago, one in 13 children in the U.S. has a food allergy, as received by foodallergy.org. For alternatives in order for children to be able to trick-or-treat, there is a movement called the Teal Pumpkin Project allows people to give out other treats to children that cannot have candy.

In order to be a part of the Teal Pumpkin Project, people can paint a pumpkin teal and display it outside indicating that the home has alternative treats such as little toys, glow sticks, stickers, and many other treats that children can enjoy. There is a free printable sign to display outside your home in case there’s no time to paint a teal pumpkin.

The movement’s goal is to make Halloween safer and happier so every child can trick-or-treat. The Teal Pumpkin Project had homes from all 50 states and 14 different countries participate in the movement last year and it is continuing to grow. To learn more about the Teal Pumpkin Project or to print out a sign, visit http://tealpumpkinproject.org and to join the fun.