Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Talking Points
On Sesame Street, One Muppet Goes Hungry
Posted
By Jonathan Kauffman
on Tue, Oct 4, 2011 at 7:50 AM
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Sesame Workshop
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Lily, the hungry Muppet.
According to the New York Times, Sesame Street will be airing a very special episode on KQED and other PBS affiliates this coming Sunday at 7 p.m. Titled "Growing Hope Against Hunger," it will introduce a Muppet named Lily who comes from a "food insecure" household.
Elmo, Bert, and Grover will encounter Lily at a food drive and a community garden, where she'll be uncomfortable talking about going hungry, in order to help hungry human kids feel like they're not so isolated.
SFoodie credits
Sesame Street with most of what we know about
feeding cows and the
number 9, and thinks the show will be smartly written. Still, how many parents of children living in food-insecure homes will sit their children in front of the television at 7 p.m. on a Sunday to show their kid that they're not alone? The airtime suggests the episode is designed more to raise empathy in non-food-insecure households.
SFoodie hopes Sesame Workshop will break the special up into segments to air during regular episodes, so that children plopped in front of the television some Wednesday afternoon will learn about community gardens and meet Lily, the hungry Muppet.
Tags: community gardens, food insecurity, muppets, Sesame Street, Image
