‘Pink’ pumpkins help with local foundation

For Carol Froese, an accidental discovery about five years ago in a pumpkin field east of Cheraw came as a blessing in disguise.

Twelve years as a breast cancer survivor, Carol, co-owner of Colorado Seeds Inc., a business she operates alongside her husband David and sons Jacob and Josh, spotted what appeared to be a pink pumpkin.

“We were actually in the field with one of our buyers who thought it was an interesting find and liked the idea of tying it to breast cancer (awareness),” Carol said. “As a breast cancer survivor, it was a perfect idea to promote something I’m so closely tied to.”

“I feel blessed,” she added. “I’m fortunate to have no problems today related to breast cancer, but it is something that always hangs over you. There is a special bond shared between breast cancer survivors and it’s very exciting to be part of something like this.”

According to the latest statistics available from the Centers for Disease Control, breast cancer is one of the leading causes of death among women.  More than 210,000 women were diagnosed with breast cancer in the United States in 2008 and more than 40,500 died from the disease in that one single year. Except for skin cancer, breast cancer is the most common cancer among American women.

In the five years since the pink pumpkin discovery, the Froese family, alongside their exclusive partner DP Seeds out of Yuma, Ariz., has cultivated the seed and has established a very deliberate goal when facing the effects of breast cancer.

In conjunction with Halloween and the month of October, which serves as National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the Froese family has since established the Pink Pumpkin Patch Foundation with help from Carol and David’s other son, Andrew, who operates an accounting firm out of Rocky Ford, and have partnered with DP Seeds to sell pink pumpkin seeds to growers across the United States and Canada in exchange for 25 cents from every pink pumpkin, cleverly named the “porcelain doll,” to be donated to the Pink Pumpkin Patch Foundation. The foundation, which Carol serves as the vice president along with four other board members nationwide, will then disburse the funds to breast cancer research groups in the United States and Canada in hopes of finding a cure for breast cancer.

“All the money raised from the sale of the pumpkins will be dispersed to places with value in breast cancer research,” said Carol. “There are not many families that have not been touched by breast cancer and the more we can do to find better treatments or ways of preventing breast cancer that have not been thought of or researched is the main goal that I would hope for.”

Porcelain doll pumpkins range from 15-20 pounds and are edible.

“They taste just like a regular pumpkin,” said Jacob.

Pink pumpkins can be used for their normally intended purposes in pies, breads, or cookies.

As the pumpkin season is nearing an end, funds raised from the porcelain doll pumpkins should be known within the next two weeks. The Pink Pumpkin Patch Foundation estimates approximately $200,000-$250,000 to be donated to breast cancer research. An estimated 800,000-1,000,000 pumpkins are expected to be sold in the United States and Canada.

  Pumpkins have been sold at major grocery retailers nationwide, including Walmart, Kroger, Ralph’s, Cub Foods, Lunds and Byerly’s, Safeway/Vons, Home Depot, Sweetbay Supermarket, King Soopers, Raley’s, Acme, Farm Fresh, and Shop and  Save, in addition to farm markets across North America.

  “We hope that the foundation continues to grow and continues to raise money for breast cancer,” said Carol. “Everybody has been excited to grow and sell pink pumpkins.”

  Growers in South Africa and Australia have shown interest in purchasing porcelain doll pumpkin seeds next year and the Froese family has also shown interest in possibly promoting what they call “blue doll” pumpkins, which is a pumpkin with a light blue hue. The target, similar to the pink pumpkin, would be aimed at raising funds to be donated to prostate cancer treatment and research.

  For more information on the Pink Pumpkin Patch Foundation, to view photos of pink-skinned pumpkins, or to access breast cancer research grant applications, visit www.pinkpumpkinpatch.org.