Halloween is six days away and a new movement is trying to make the celebration less scary for kids with food allergies.
It may not be your traditional way of decorating for Halloween, but three-year-old Austen knows exactly why he's painting a pumpkin teal.
"We don't have peanut food," he says.
It's called the Teal Pumpkin Project, which supports kids with food allergies.
"It allows families who come to homes, to identify that, 'hey I can be safe at this home,' which is the number one priority for all allergy families," says Heather Cushing-Gordon.
Food Allergy Canada, an advocacy group for families living with allergies, is encouraging homeowners to display a teal pumpkin and offer non-food items to trick-or-treaters like stickers, glow sticks or pencils.
"You'd never think that it is stressful, but for us with children with food allergies it is quite stressful," says organizer Antia Chen.
Teal is the colour for allergy awareness and it's helping make Halloween a little less spooky for kids with allergies.
"Halloween used to be so full of anxiety, so panicked, thinking you have to look through every single bag and worry, worry, worry. You go to every house and you think about what they're giving your child, but when you see these blue pumpkins it takes all of that away," says Ashley Valentini.
Pumpkins for this event in Stouffville were donated by local farms.
"I'm allergic to peanuts and sesame seeds and I have an epi-pen," says Ainsley.
If you want to take part in this campaign, you can either paint your pumpkin teal or download a teal pumpkin poster from the Food Allergy Canada website.
