Teal pumpkins roll in to CC with allergy awareness

Teal pumpkins roll in to CC with allergy awareness

FARE movement aims to eliminate reaction risks during Halloween

Not every kid can sugar up on Halloween with few worries beyond a tummyache, but a single teal pumpkin can be a big relief to the parents of ghosts and ghouls with frighteningly serious food allergies. The Teal Pumpkin Project, adopted nationally in 2014 by Food Allergy Research & Education (FARE) from a local Tennessee movement, asks households to paint one teal pumpkin for the front porch and provide non-edible treats in a separate bowl, like creepy plastic spider rings, glow sticks, small noisemakers or Halloween-themed bouncy balls, to keep the fun inclusive for all kids. In 2015, FARE hopes to see 100,000 households pledge to provide safe treats to all trick-or-treaters out for the night.

Hy-Vee Dietitian Danielle Bowlin said the store is the only Charles City address currently registered on FARE’s online map, although not all households participating necessarily register. Hy-Vee will be giving out individually packaged toothbrushes as part of their Oct. 24 store party.

“If parents do have a child with a food allergy, putting your address on this website is just a way to say you can safely come here and we will provide non-food items,” Bowlin said.

Hy-Vee is also selling teal pumpkins in the Health Market section of the store, which Bowlin said has helped start some conversations about allergens like milk, peanuts or wheat, which show up in typical candies such as Milky Way or Snickers. “You don’t know where that’s been, and a lot of time with celiac (disease) it takes a small amount of wheat to cause a reaction,” Bowlin said.

When there aren’t enough teal pumpkins in the neighborhood to go around, parents should be prepared to keep the night positive.

Keeping a stash of allergyapproved treats or small toys at home lets parents and children look through a treat bag at the night’s end, trading suspect candies for a safe alternative without the child’s haul diminishing.

Bowlin also recommends parents teach kids how to read food labels and speak up at the doorsteps.

“Don’t be shy. Say, ‘I have such and such allergy, are you offering a non-food item?’” Bowlin said. “Anything that contains any of the big eight allergens (peanuts, tree nuts, milk, egg, wheat, soy, fish and shellfish) or were prepared in a facility where those are present is required to be on the label.

(Take) nothing homemade or taken out of the package.

These are common sense things, being a bit more aware of those items.”

Participating households should also be aware that some non-food items like moldable clay may contain trace amounts of allergens, and try to choose latex-free items, to avoid latex allergy reactions.

FARE estimates that potentially deadly allergies affect 1 in every 13 children (under 18 years old), or roughly two students in every classroom. Reactions can be mild – such as an itchy mouth – to a severe anaphylaxis reaction, leading to symptoms such as difficulty breathing, reduced blood pressure, or reactions around the skin, mouth, nose or gastrointestinal tract. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control reports that food allergy incidents result in more than 300,000 ambulatory-care visits a year among children under the age of 18.

To learn more about the Teal Pumpkin Project or see a list of more suggested non-food treats, visit www.

foodallergy.org.

By Kate Hayden khayden@charlescitypress.com