Kids with food allergies are hoping to see one thing outside of your door on Halloween night, a teal pumpkin.
What does a teal pumpkin mean? It means a home is offering more than just tasty treats, it's also offering a non-food option for kids who may have severe allergies.
Alexis Corbin is hoping residents taking part in Halloween will think about purchasing more than just candy this year. She is encouraging them to also buy small trinkets for kids with allergies, and take part in the Teal Pumpkin Project.
“Halloween is about the kids, it's about what they get to do. No kid with an allergy or other health issue asked for that. They just want to participate in these types of things like everybody else,” Corbin explained.
The Teal Pumpkin Project is celebrating its third year in Cold Lake, and Corbin is happy to see it continue to grow in the community.
The first year running, the program had 50 homes take part. Last year, that number jumped to 70.
Corbin brought the Teal Pumpkin Project to the area because of her son, and others like him, who spent years watching their siblings go trick-or-treating every Halloween.
“This program allows for these kids to get in their costumes, go out with their siblings and friends, and participate in the same activity, but come home with something that won't make them sick, or even kill them,” she noted.
When Corbin did let her son take part in the tradition, he constantly wondered why he never got to keep the tasty treats he collected.
“He just wanted to be like his brother. He wanted to do exactly what his brother wanted to do, but he couldn't. At a young age, to already feel excluded and left out, it broke my heart,” expressed Corbin. “That's why I brought it here, so he could at least go to the houses. He got excited every time he saw a teal pumpkin. He would scream and go running up the sidewalk when he saw a teal pumpkin, because he knew that whatever they gave him was safe for him.”
In order to take part, residents simply buy a pumpkin and paint it teal, or print off one of the Teal Pumpkin Project posters and put it somewhere visible on their home. This is a sure-sign that a residence is offering non-food options to kids.
Corbin also asks that they pin their home on the Cold Lake Teal Pumpkin Project Facebook page map.
“This way, a parent with a child that has allergies can actually plan out a route,” she explained.
Pencils, stamps, stickers, small toys, and glow sticks are some of the common toys given out in replacement of treats.
Although common, Corbin recommends residents steer clear of handing out toys like playdoh, because some kids are allergic to an ingredient it contains.
Families can handout both candy and toys, Corbin suggested, adding the great thing about toys is they never expire.
“We have told the parents that if their child is participating in this to let people know. If the kid is older, they can verbalize it themselves, or if the parent comes up and says ‘they're here because of the teal pumpkin,' then you know,” said Corbin.
As a mother of a son with allergies, Corbin hopes to continue to see the program grow in the area. Her vision, is for the entire community to be decorated with teal pumpkins, and spreading the joy of Halloween to all children, not just those without allergies.
“It just seems like the right thing to do… It seems like a kind and empathetic thing to do, to understand that person just wants to be like everybody else.”
