Occupy Sesame Street

As unemployed and disheartened protesters sprout up around the globe in the Occupy Wall Street movement, it seems like a true sign of the times that Sesame Street recently debuted a poverty stricken Muppet during a national primetime special that aired on October 9th entitled, “Growing Hope Against Hunger”.

Lily is a seven-year-old puppet who often visits a food pantry because her family doesn't always know where their next meal is coming from. She also talks with Elmo about getting free breakfast and lunches at school through assistance programs.

The special seems timely as the latest USDA statistics show that there has been an increase among Americans who rely on food assistance. According to the USDA, the largest increase of families using emergency food from a pantry rose by over 40 percent to slightly more than 5.5 million households annually during the recession.

When I first learned of Lily, I wasn't quite sure how I felt about the introduction of a puppet who had limited access to enough food. I wondered if preschoolers needed to be exposed to the harsh reality that many children in America live in families who struggle to get meals on the table.

It raised many questions in my mind. As parents, how much exposure should we give our children to current social events? Is it our job to shelter them from the economic crisis that is plaguing our country so that they feel secure? Would the knowledge that children are going hungry make them feel insecure and wonder if that could happen to their own family?

After I watched the Sesame Street clip of Lily and other children talking about their family's struggle, all of those concerns seemed to be overshadowed and I suddenly had a change of heart.

The truth is that my children are blessed to always have plenty to eat but millions of children in America live with food insecurity as their families struggle to get enough nutrition. The USDA estimates that 17 million American children have limited or uncertain access to affordable and nutritious food.

I believe that Lily's character could help teach empathy to children who don’t understand hunger as well as reach the kids for whom hunger is a real concern. Sesame Street handled a hard topic in a very gentle way and even the short clip presented with this article could be a great conversation starter for talking to your children about this issue.

With the US Department of Labor reporting that the unemployment rate is higher than it's been in over 60 years, more and more families are finding themselves in need of food assistance programs. Those chlldren need a voice. I applaud Sesame Street for making that small hungry voice be heard.

Please visit these resources for more information on ways to help your neighbor who may not have enough to eat.

The Food Bank of Northeast Georgia
Food 2 Kids

Do you talk to your children about tough social topics and events? Have you seen the folks downtown? What do you think of the introduction of a "food insecure" puppet on Sesame Street? Please share your thoughts and experiences in the comments.