5 Tips for an Allergy-Friendly Halloween
By: @allerGenefriendly
Having food allergies can be tricky during Halloween season. To help make it a little bit easier, I have shared some allergy friendly tips you can follow to ensure that your Halloween is no tricks and all treats!
1: RAISE AWARENESS BEFOREHAND + PURCHASE SAFE TREATS
The older my kids get, the more I realize how many events take place BEFORE Halloween. There is always an abundance of fall festivals, pumpkin patches, and trunk-or-treat events during the month of October. Use these events as a way to bring awareness to your community!
Take advantage of these gatherings by passing out flyers with examples of safe treats from an allergy-friendly brand such as YumEarth. You could even attach a lollipop or giggles snack pack to the flyer for added fun! We have also created ‘teal pumpkin paint kits’ for our neighbors. This allows them to add teal to one of their own pumpkins to show that they’re including all kids this season.
2: LOOK FOR TEAL PUMPKINS
If you spot a house on Halloween night that has a teal pumpkin on the porch, there’s a good chance it has a safe treat waiting for you! For years, teal pumpkins have symbolized an allergy-friendly house. While not everyone with safe treats places a teal pumpkin out, it’s a good starting point. You can also visit FARE’s website to see a map of registered allergy-friendly houses. This map makes it super helpful to know exactly where to find treats that are safe. You can even register your own house so others will know that you’re passing out gluten-free, nut-free, and delicious YumEarth candy!
3: HAVE A BUDDY + SPEAK TO YOUR NEIGHBORS
This one should be easy since skeletons, ballerinas, and superheroes never trick-or-treat alone! Talk to a friend or family member ahead of time about which candies are safe for you and, of course, which candies you like. When you are offered candy, your buddy will pick a safe candy and put it in your bucket or bag. This way you can avoid the added risk of touching something that’s unsafe. You can also talk with your neighbors ahead of time to make sure they have a safe option for your child.
4: HAVE AN ADULT SORT WITH YOU
We do this every year in our house! Once all of the fun has been had, we come home and the kids dump their candy out. We sort the candy into two piles- safe and unsafe. After many years in the allergy world and a ton of ingredient research, our candy is pretty easy to sort through, especially when we find our favorite safe brands, like YumEarth, in the mix.
However, we all know that ingredients can change so it is still important to double check piece by piece. My personal favorite way to check ingredients is through the Spokin app. It’s free to download, user-friendly, and provides accurate information on brands, products, ingredients, and even manufacturing policies. Spokin even comes out with a Halloween candy guide each year! YumEarth is one of their verified brands, which is just another reason to love all of their products. Remember, if you’re hesitant or having doubts, put it in the unsafe pile.
If you’re like us, you’ll end up with a good amount of candy that isn’t safe to eat. Instead of throwing it out, try and donate it to a good cause like Treats for Troops, Operation Gratitude, or Ronald McDonald House.
5: TRADE YOUR TREATS
One of our favorite Halloween traditions is to have the kids trade some of their candy for an extra special treat. Since we are an allergy household, but still love our candy, the kids keep their safe candy and we trade only the unsafe candy for a treat. The unsafe candy is traded for a gift, like art supplies or legos, or an activity, like a trip to the movie theater or a play date with a friend. It can also be traded for a fresh bag of your favorite organic candies like YumEarth gummy bears or chewys!
I hope you’ll find these tips helpful this spooky season. For more helpful tips please visit FARE's website.
Have a safe and happy Halloween!