Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit organization behind Sesame Street, is once again setting a great example of how to tackle a difficult subject in an approachable and unique way. As part of their Food for Thought initiative, the organization is bringing the important issue of childhood hunger to light with the introduction of a new Muppet, Lily. And I got the chance to interview her.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1 in 4 American children are food insecure (a.k.a. hungry) and 9.6 million of them are under the age of 6.

“In that Sesame Workshop model, we looked at how you structure a story around this issue in a way that presents the child’s point of view,” said Dr. Jeanette Betancourt, Senior Vice President for Outreach and Educational Practices at Sesame Workshop. “We figured the best way was to create a wonderful Muppet who had experienced food insecurity so that we could really point it out from a child’s perspective.”

Enter Lily. A 7-year-old Muppet who knows all too well what it feels like to be hungry.

Abigail Quesinberry:  Hi, Lily! It’s so nice to meet you! So, Lily, I understand that your family hasn’t always had enough food to eat. What’s it like to not know where your next meal is coming from?

Lily:  Well, um, that’s kind of a hard question… My mom is really good about doing the best she can and my dad… I guess he’s been a little mopey lately. I try not to think about it too much. But I’m pretty lucky because there’s this thing at school where I get a free breakfast and lunch. Before that, it was really hard… my friends would go sit together at lunchtime and I would say I wasn’t hungry or I had a stomachache or something because I just was a little embarrassed, you know, or ashamed about it.

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