A local family has been spending the last few years making sure every child gets to take part in Halloween.

The Food Allergy Research and Education (FARE) says there are 15 million people nationwide who have a food allergy, and that includes children.

The Teal Pumpkin Project started nationally back in 2014, that is when the Hess family started giving out teal pumpkins. After finding out their kids have severe food allergies they realized that most homes did not have a safe treat for their kids. "We saw it on FARE and thought that is such a good idea and participated but we didn't have any other people in the neighborhood and we just wanted to make it happen," says Aaron Hess. 

The Hess family gets pumpkins donated to them or they buy them out of their own pocket book. They spend days collecting these pumpkins and painting them teal. Throughout the month of October they hand out the free pumpkins. They hope by giving people the option to support the Teal Pumpkin Project it will help more kids have the chance to participate in Halloween. "We just want everyone to be included and that is what the Teal Pumpkin Project does is to help kids with food allergies and there are a lot, its a growing number. So they can participate and have fun," explains Hess. 

The Hess family will be at Andelin Farm Saturday, October 28th starting at 10:00 a.m where they will be giving out their free pumpkins.

If you would like to donate to FARE or learn more about the Teal Pumpkin Project visit: https://www.foodallergy.org/