Sesame Street Helps Low-Income Families Eat Healthier

by Danny Jensen · 2010-08-12 12:00:00 UTC
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If there's one downside to hanging out with my nieces and nephews, it's realizing that most of their toys and slang are totally foreign to me.  Thankfully, Sesame Street is one of the few generational mainstays connecting our childhoods.  Sesame Street has always helped kids develop healthy habits, whether it's learning or exercising. Now, the children's show plans to launch an ambitious and timely initiative to promote nutritious eating habits for kids and families on limited budgets.

Set to launch this December, the “Food for Thought: Eating Well on a Budget” toolkit will consist of a DVD featuring familiar Sesame Street faces promoting healthy foods, a guide for parents and caregivers on how to make nutritious and budget-friendly meal choices, and a collection of kid-friendly recipes.  The program is a collaboration between Sesame Workshop, the non-profit educational organization behind the show, AmeriChoice United Healthcare, which provides low-income families with health coverage, and the Merck Company Foundation. 

Sesame Street's ongoing popularity can be largely attributed to finding clever ways to make learning fun, and the show has never shied away from addressing pressing social issues. I can't think of a better team to help educate kids and adults about the importance of healthy food than Big Bird and the gang.

Sesame Workshop began directly addressing childhood nutrition six years ago when it launched "Healthy Habits for Life," and  I know I wasn't the only one excited to see Michelle Obama stop by Sesame Street to promote garden-fresh veggies.

America still has a ways to go before it can really take credit for improving the food options available to kids, especially with children from low-income families. I'm encouraged by the fact that the Senate passed its version of the Child Nutrition Bill, which will increase the number of kids elligible for free or reduced-cost lunches, but the program may come at the cost of food stamp funding. As an increasing number of families are struggling just to put food on the table and many communities lack access to healthy food choices, parents need all the help they can get to ensure that their kids get properly nourished. Having Big Bird, Elmo, and Oscar the Grouch on parents' sides will surely help push kids' eating habits in the right direction.

The"Food for Thought" package is bi-lingual (English and Spanish, and hopefully more languages soon), and will be distributed by UnitedHealthcare, Merck, the National WIC Association, and the hunger-relief non-profit, Feeding America.  In the meantime, you can learn more about teaching kids the importance of a well-balanced diet with Healthy Habits for Life.

Photo credit: stev.ie

Danny Jensen
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