When you think of Halloween, you think of scary movies, an autumn chill in the air, and, of course, candy! Trick-or-treating is every kid’s favorite part of Halloween!
Trick-or-treating has been a traditional part of Halloween festivities for a long time, but in recent years it’s gotten more complicated. The world is not as innocent as it was once, so parents are advised to accompany kids. Additionally, a lot of kids have food allergies that weren’t as common once as they are now.
For those kids, trick-or-treating can present a unique challenge. They could participate in the trick-or-treating and show off their costumes, but they couldn’t eat most of the candy they collected. That’s no fun at all!
According to Food Allergy Research & Education (FARE), approximately 15 million Americans suffer from food allergies, with one in 13 children under 18 affected. Between 1997 and 2011, there was a 50% increase in food allergies.
It’s not known why, but food allergies have been on the rise in a big way (my personal theory involves the increased prevalence of synthetic additives in our food), with kids and teens being particularly vulnerable to potentially life-threatening reactions.
Every three minutes, someone in the United States has to visit the emergency room due to a food allergy. For those of us who are allergy-free, it can be really hard to understand just how inconvenient and frightening these allergies are.