FARE Walk offers food allergy-friendly environment

Children with food allergies cannot always participate in traditional Halloween activities due to the possibility of coming in contact with allergens. FARE, which stands for Food Allergy Research and Education, hosts walks every year to provide food allergy-friendly activities and promote awareness of allergies. 

About 50 people attended this year's Oct. 23 walk at Veterans Park, which also included arts and crafts, a costume contest and food allergy-friendly trick or treating. The annual event helps raise awareness and fundraise for FARE. 

This year's event also promoted the Teal Pumpkin Project, which encourages individuals to place teal pumpkins out on Halloween, indicating they have non-food treats for trick-or-treaters and are food-allergy friendly. The Teal Pumpkin Project launched in 2015.

National sponsors of this year's FARE Walk included Enjoy Life, SunButter, Skeeter Nut Free, Nice N Clean and Don’t Go Nuts. Sponsors provided snack samples, including sunflower butter and peanut-free cookies, and signs around the event asked attendees to take samples home before eating them so that the event stayed food allergy-friendly. Local sponsors also provided non-food treats such as whistles and temporary tattoos.