Growing Hope Against Hunger With Sesame Street

My girl and I have a ritual every single night to give thanks for our health and all the blessings we receive every day.  Now that she’s four and can grasp more concepts, I’ve started introducing a prayer for all the babies and kids in the world that don’t have a family to care for them, a home to sleep in or food to feed them.  This bit has really impacted my girl because she can’t believe some kids have no toys, families, a home or food. But, it’s very real, and not only across borders, but within our borders, it’s just not quite that visible to us, and much less to them if we don’t expose kids early on to all the realities and shelter them from experiences.

That’s why I was excited to see that Walmart is supporting a very important Sesame Street one hour primetime special called Growing Hope Against Hunger,  airing nationwide on PBS on October 9th at 7:00 PM ET/ PT (check local listings). In addition, a Spanish version of the special will air on October 22nd at 1pm ET/PT on Univision and on October 23rd  at 1pm ET/PT it will air on Telefutura.

Starring Brad Paisley, Kimberly Williams Paisley and the Sesame Street Muppets, Growing Hope Against Hunger will also introduce a new Muppet named Lily whose family has an ongoing struggle with hunger.  Children watching this will witness families’ personal stories to raise awareness of the widespread issue of hunger in the United States, as well as strategies that have helped these families find resources and grow stronger together.

I need my daughter to watch this. I need for her to grasp how ridiculously lucky and blessed she is to get to choose if she wants a quesadilla or chicken soup for dinner. I want her to know her trips to Disneyland and the movies are truly very special and something to be thankful for everyday. I want her to know she’s lucky to not be part of  1 out of 4 children in the U.S that have “limited or uncertain access to affordable and nutritious food.”

With a $1.5 million grant from Walmart, Growing Hope Against Hunger extends the [2010] Food for Thought initiative through the national television broadcast of the new primetime special, the distribution of 35,000 Food for Thought resource kits and following the premiere of the special, 15 screenings will be hosted in select Walmart communities. In May 2010, Walmart committed $2 billion to fighting hunger in the U.S. through 2015 and at the premiere in New York Walmart announced that it will be donating 8,000 pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables to City Harvest, who will distribute it directly into the hands of hungry New Yorkers through open-air, farmer’s market-style distributions in high need communities as well as deliver it to preschool and afterschool programs serving children in need throughout the five boroughs.

Is hunger something you and your children talk about? How do you talk about it?

Disclosure: As part of the Walmart Moms program, SpanglishBaby received compensation and the product to facilitate this post. As always, all stories and opinions are our own.