Forget black and orange. There's a new color this Halloween.
The Teal Pumpkin Project is a new, nationwide initiative to raise awareness about children with food allergies.
Homeowners are putting teal-painted pumpkins by their front door during trick-or-treat times. The pumpkin is a symbol that tells trick-or-treaters and their families that the house offers non-food "treats."
"Trick or treating is a community event and we want to make sure all children can be safe and included," said Kara Hill, Founder and President of the Quad Cities Food Allergy Network.
"The need is huge, so we just have a network to relate to other families that are living like we live."
Hill started the QCFAN because she has two children with food allergies. She says food allergies have increased 50% from 1997 to 2011, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
"15 million Americans have food allergies. 1 in 13 are children."
Elsa Kramer is one of those children. The four-year-old from Rock Island was recently diagnosed with Celiac Disease, which means she can't eat anything with gluten.
It also means trick-or-treating is going to be extra "tricky" this Halloween.
"There's a few things you can have, but there's a lot of stuff you'd be shocked has gluten," said Elana Kramer, Elsa's Mom. "Twizzlers are her favorite, but the second ingredient is wheat flour so it's going to be an adjustment where being four she doesn't understand."
The Teal Pumpkin Project was created to help children like Elsa still enjoy the tricks and treats of Halloween. Elsa's family will be giving away pencils. Others are giving away Play-Doh, bubbles, stickers, temporary tattoos, etc.
"I've been handing out candy for years to children and never thought about allergies, so it raised our awareness and hopefully it'll raise other people's awareness, too," said Kramer.
Even if you don't have time to paint a pumpkin teal, there are posters you can print out and display during trick-or-treat times if you want to participate in the Teal Pumpkin Project. For the download and to learn more about the initiative, click here.
To learn more about the Quad Cities Food Allergy Network, click here.
For trick-or-treat times in your hometown, click here.