BLOOMINGTON – First United Church in Bloomington held a trick-or-treat event last weekend, but one that brought awareness to children with food allergies.
The church decided to bring a different type of halloween event to Bloomington through the Teal Pumpkin Project, an initiative that helps bring awareness to food allergies during the Halloween season. They made the event into a trail, setting up 45 teal pumpkin buckets filled with allergy-conscious candy and toys for children to collect.
First United Church’s President of the Congregation, Mitchell Farmer, 37, is very familiar with the initiative.
Farmer’s son, Audie, 9, has food allergies, so the Farmer family has been using the Teal Pumpkin initiative in their home since he was born. Although home is safe for Audie during the Halloween season, trick-or-treating outside of the house is not always safe for him.
Audie expressed that the First United Church’s event makes him feel much more at ease while trick-or-treating, since he knows all the candy and toys are safe for him.
This difficulty at home helped Farmer to create the Teal Pumpkin event in Bloomington, setting the church apart from other organizations that host trick-or-treat events.
Mitchell Farmer speaks on how First United Church implemented the Teal Pumpkin Project into their annual trick-or-treat event. Farmer serves as the president of the congregation for the church.
The Teal Pumpkin Project was created in 2012 by a small food allergy group from Tennessee and quickly gained popularity across the country. In 2014, the Food Allergy Research and Education (FARE) organization extended the project even more.
FARE’s website has information for readers, including what candies are and are not safe for people to hand out. The website states that, “While the top 9 allergens account for over 90% of reactions, there are over 200 reported allergens, and because of this, there is no such thing as “allergy-free” candy.”
Their website also has information on non-candy items that make good treats for children. Some of these items include glow sticks, stickers, bubbles and pencils.
In addition to information on safe ways to prepare for trick-or-treat events, FARE’s website also includes a map of locations where children can trick-or-treat for allergy-safe goodies. Individuals who want to adhere to allergy-conscious treat choices can add their address to the website, letting potential trick-or-treaters know their house or organization is safe.
Jessica Petersen-Mutai talks about the turnout of the event and why it is important to bring to Bloomington. Petersen-Mutai is the senior minister for the church.
Jessica Petersen-Mutai, 42, works as the senior minister of First United Church and was tasked with making sure the event was completely safe for children. In alignment with the Teal Pumpkin Project’s safety tips, Petersen-Mutai separated candies and toys into their own buckets to ensure the treats would not cross-contaminate.
In addition to making the event safe, she also helped advertise the event, on both First United Church’s website and through Facebook. Petersen-Mutai explained that this event helps set First United Church apart from other organizations. Along with that, the event helps the church fulfill their commitment of being an open and safe place for the Bloomington community.
Farmer and Petersen-Mutai hope that this event sparks awareness in the Bloomington community and that other organizations will follow in their footsteps for the next Halloween season. In addition, they hope that this event will reach even more of Bloomington next year, creating awareness for children that have food-allergies.
