New character 'Muppet' on Sesame street

                                        New muppet Lily whose parents have been hit by the economic downturn

A new Sesame Street character who lives on the breadline has appeared on the US show to teach children about poverty.Lily, the so-called "hungry muppet", was introduced on a special one hour programme broadcast in the US on Sunday called Growing Hope Against Hunger.
In the episode, the pink puppet showed Elmo around the modern-day equivalent of a soup kitchen and explained that her parents had been hit by the economic downturn.
The special was inspired by figures compiled by the US Department of Agriculture.

It estimates that 17 million children in the US, half of whom are under six years old, go hungry because their families are unable to afford sufficient food.
Sesame Street producer Melissa Dino told Newsweek magazine: "In 2009, 15% of US households were identified as being food insecure, or defined as being with limited or uncertain availability to meet their basic needs due to a lack of financial resources.
"That's really, really staggering in our country."
Lily was created to persuade young viewers to empathise with their less fortunate peers.
"The message we give for young children in the programme is to be a friend," added Dino.
"We knew we wanted a character who was a child for children in the audience who had experienced this and would be reassured."
There are currently no plans for Lily to join the Sesame Street cast full-time.