When little ghosts and goblins come to the door of Isabel Jordan's Squamish home on Halloween night, they will be offered a choice of a candy or a toy.
Jordan, who has a child with food allergies and co-founded the Rare Disease Foundation, has been offering both options for years.
"I go to dollar store and I get little notebooks and pencils 鈥� basically the stuff you would give out as loot bags for little kids," she said. "We ask kids, 'Do you want a candy or do you want a little toy?'"
She and others like her in Squamish are part of a movement known as the Teal Pumpkin Project that is gaining momentum around the globe.
Food Allergy Reach and Education to promote inclusion and safety for those living with food allergies launched the initiative in 2014.
Families can place a teal-coloured pumpkin in front of their home to show they have non-food treats available.
Some stores, like Squamish's Walmart, also sell teal-coloured pumpkin-buckets that symbolize that a child would prefer non-food treats.
Online, Food Allergy Canada offers posters, fliers other accessories that can be downloaded to show that a family is offering alternatives as well.
Jordan says to be inclusive; she doesn't ask if trick or treaters have allergies, she just offers them an option at the door.
"So it is not outing kids that are different. You are just saying to everybody, 'Which do you prefer?'"
Kristi Robinson is a local mom whose children don't have food allergies, but she hopes the movement grows in the corridor.
Robinson lives on and off in the U.K. and first heard about the Teal Pumpkin Project there two or three years ago.
"It is quite big over there," she said.
She is happy to hear more and more people are doing it locally.
"I just think it is such a great movement because it is inclusive and it means all kids can trick or treat... it is such a magical time for kids."
For more on the initiative go to /foodallergycanada.ca/teal-pumpkin-project/ or search Teal Pumpkin Project in Google.
