To connect more with local families, I started a food allergy support group, the Food Allergy Community of East Tennessee ( FACET). If it is a candy item that we know contains his allergen, we simply say, “No thank you, he has food allergies,” or his brother will graciously accept the item in his bag instead depending on the product. My son is not allowed to touch the candy as it is dropped into the bag. We still participated in traditional trick-or-treating and other Halloween activities but were very cautious and only visited a few homes in the neighborhood. Halloween is scary because it is so food-focused. My older son also has several food intolerances.

My youngest son has a history of anaphylaxis and in 2012 was diagnosed with life-threatening food allergies to peanut, tree nuts, cow’s milk, apple, and cinnamon as well as several food intolerances. What inspired you to start the Teal Pumpkin Project? It’s amazing! We are overjoyed that we are helping so many families and communities by educating and empowering them.īecky Basalone's sons, Caden and Miles with their teal pumpkins. The Teal Pumpkin Project that you started is all over social media and the media, helping to raise awareness for kids with food allergies this Halloween. By 2018, several food allergy organizations were working together on the Project to heighten allergy awareness.Īllergic Living’s Courtney Born speaks to idea initiator Becky Basalone – learning how the Teal Pumpkin Project took off from her front porch. It’s grown every year since, creating a new food allergy-friendly tradition. The teal pumpkin concept went viral on social media, reaching more than five million people on FARE’s Facebook page in that first year. The folks at FARE (Food Allergy Research and Education) loved her “teal take” on Halloween and first got behind the idea for Halloween 2014, promoting the “Teal Pumpkin Project” to the media across the country. “It is definitely accomplishing its mission of raising awareness and it has united the food allergy community to stand strong in support of our children.” “As a parent, I pray that my actions have a positive impact on my children, but I had never imagined that this act of love would reach so far and impact so many,” says Basalone. In fact, it’s even taking off in Canada and Britain. What she didn’t know was that her teal pumpkin would become a nationwide symbol for Halloween food allergy awareness. It was in the fall of 2012 that Basalone, the director of a local Tennessee food allergy support group, first had the bright idea of painting a pumpkin teal, the color of food allergy awareness, and handing out non-food items. Updated October 2019: Thanks to Becky Basalone, a mother-of-two and the creator of the Teak Pumpkin Project, Halloween is getting more teal and far less spooky for children with food allergies.

Becky Basalone, creator of the Teal Pumpkin Project.

Teal pumpkin project halloween