Meghan Mirabitur is getting prepped for Halloween. But unlike most moms, this one won’t be passing out candy.
"We’re gonna pass these out to our tricker treaters and say happy Halloween," she said, as she played with toy finger lights.
That’s because Mirabiter has a son that can’t eat most of it.
Four year-old, Vincenzo has a life threatening peanut allergy. He could have a full blown anaphylactic reaction if in the same vicinity as peanuts, making an EpiPen essential every where he goes.
Typically, Mirabitur says she has to go up on the porch with her son and monitor what goes into his basket.
But this year, she’s hoping to buck that trend all together and instead just rely on the homes with the teal pumpkins out front.
It’s all part of a national initiative called the Teal Pumpkin Project — meant to encourage families to offer just about anything other than food.
Families that choose to take part can go register online— allowing the trick-or-treaters to track participating homes.
Last year, almost 18,000 households across the country participated, but only a handful of homes— she says — are currently registered in her area.
"We just want it to spread like crazy. We want people to have that option especially seeing what it does to our kids," said Mirabitur.
For her child, she says, having alternative option there is enough to turn his frown upside down.
More information on the initiative can be found at foodallergy.org.
