I feel guilty in carving a pumpkin .. The thing is edible and will feed a family

70% off at Michaels--carve once, reuse for years!

the squirrels, rabbits, coyotes...

I'm so sick and tired of seeing everything plastic end up in landfills. This is my current pet peeve that I see EVERYWHERE now (and while though I don't begrudge children their play toys, these things have, at most a couple year lifespan before they choke the landfills):

It can go from porch to pie after halloween.

You can make a pie or bread for a neighbor with the meat and toast the seeds for a snack.

There are particular varieties of pumpkins that are used for pies and other cooking, generically labeled "sugar pumpkins" or "pie pumpkins." Some varieties are Baby Pam, Autumn Gold, Ghost Rider, New England Pie Pumpkin, Lumina (which are white), Cinderella, and Fairy Tale. They are smaller than jack-o-lantern pumpkins, which tend to be stringy and too watery, and if you make a pie out of your jack-o-lantern it will probably be lumpy and taste like squash (I tried it once. Yuck). If you do cook with them use the smaller ones; the big ones aren't very good to eat. So don't feel bad if you don't eat yours. You can compost it or leave it out for the squirrels.

Or give it to these guys:

to paraphrase an old religious saying.

When you buy your next pumpkin for celebration and making people happy, maybe buy a few cans of food for local food bank or buy a few extra pumpkins for a family that can't afford them, to carve.

We need shared traditions that speak happiness and joy and wonderment --without enough to eat we eventually starve but without a vision we also perish.