The Teal Pumpkin Project helps spread awareness of food allergies and enables children with allergies to still partake in Halloween activities.
According to Food Allergy Network Recipes, researchers have estimated food allergies affect one in every 13 children under the age of 18 in the U.S. To raise awareness of food allergies and promote the inclusion of all trick-or-treaters throughout the Halloween season, South Valley Elementary School nurse Kelley Stenton has been teaching her students about the Teal Pumpkin Project.
“I think that the Teal Pumpkin Project is a great school initiative because so many people have allergies. Our school nurse is teaching our students that lots of people have allergies to many of the common ingredients in lots of Halloween candies,” South Valley Principal Leisa Karanjia said. “By teaching allergy awareness to our students and their families, we can inspire creative thinking about offering fun, non-food Halloween treats that children enjoy receiving at homes that support the Teal Pumpkin Project.”
The Teal Pumpkin Project, a movement that is now in its third year, was inspired by the efforts of a mom in Tennessee, Becky Basalone. The director of a local food allergy support group, Basalone had the idea to paint pumpkins teal, the color of food allergy awareness, to help food allergy families during Halloween. Now a nationwide symbol for Halloween food-allergy awareness, the teal pumpkins signify homes that offer non-food treats for children with these allergies.
Stenton, a third-year school nurse at South Valley Elementary School, first heard of the Teal Pumpkin Project through Facebook and began to conduct her own research on the initiative. After reading about the Teal Pumpkin Project, she realized how important it is to keep the children of the community safe, seeing as food allergies can be life threatening and very scary for parents and the child who has been diagnosed.
Stenton teaches first- through third-grade students during the first three weeks of every month starting in October and ending the first week of June. During the week of Monday, Oct. 17 to Friday, Oct. 21, her third-grade classes all received a 40-minute lesson on the Teal Pumpkin Project that ended with each student painting their own teal pumpkin to participate in the project themselves and to spread the word in the community.
During her presentation, Stenton showed the students a graph demonstrating how many children out of each classroom statistically have a food allergy. She also had the students explain what their immune system does — fights germs to avoid sickness — and explained how allergies affect the immune system.
Next, she explained the eight most common types of food allergies including dairy, eggs, peanuts, three nuts, fish, shellfish, wheat and soy. Stenton also went over the initial signs of an allergic reaction, explaining to the students the throat has two pipes and how when the “food pipe” becomes swollen, it will affect a person’s ability to breathe.
“Many students were shocked in the beginning when I started sharing what could really happen to someone that has an allergic reaction. They appeared to be saddened by how severe an allergy could be and it could hurt their friends or family members that have allergies,” Stenton said. “They were really excited about bringing their pumpkins home and asking their parents to help them get non-food treats.”
Popular non-food items that can be purchased and handed out include glow sticks, necklaces, bracelets, pencils, bubbles, erasers, slinkies, noisemakers, vampire fangs, mini notepads, playing cards, spider rings, bookmarks, stencils and more.
“By increasing food allergy awareness, the project reduces risks associated with allergic reactions, while at the same time creating a more inclusive environment for those that are impacted,” Stenton said. “A stronger sense of community is fostered by enabling a child to participate in customary celebrations and have their unique circumstances acknowledged without being viewed as being ‘different’ or ‘separate.’”
To participate, just paint a pumpkin teal, or purchase a teal pumpkin, and place it outside of your front door. Families can also print out a free sign to post on their door to make trick-or-treaters aware of their participation in the initiative. Posters can be found by visiting http://www.foodallergy.org/teal-pumpkin-project/download.
Additionally, Food Allergy Research & Education provides a crowd-sourced Fever Map that allows people participating in the Teal Pumpkin Project to add their home address, street or neighborhood that can be found at http://zeemaps.com/map?group=2075510.
When a child sees a house or knocks on a door that has a Teal Pumpkin sign or Teal Pumpkin they know they will be leaving with a treat they do not have to get rid of. Ultimately, supporting the Teal Pumpkin Project is a simple gesture that can have a big impact.
