can be difficult . Food insecurity is defined as the lack of a consistent access to food for active , healthy lives , according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture . The USDA says 14.5 % of households were food insecure at least some time during 2010 and that 5.4 % of households experienced very low food security the same year . `` Numerous studies suggest that children in food-insecure households have higher risks of health and development problem than children in otherwise similar food-secure households , '' the USDA says . The Great Recession , which set off a wave of layoffs and plummeting home values , left many families without access to adequate food . Since 2001 , the number of households receiving emergency food has grown steadily , according to the USDA . The most significant increase took place between 2007 and 2009 -- during the recession -- when the number of households making use of food pantries rose from 3.9 million to 5.6 million , an increase of 44 % , according to the USDA . Sesame Street really wanted to convey the scope of the problem , a spokeswoman said . Many children whose families
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Move over , Cookie Monster . And pipe down , Oscar the Grouch . There 's a new muppet in town , and she 's hungry . Her name is Lily , and the newest member of the muppet pantheon symbolizes a serious social condition in today 's recessionary era : nationwide hunger . Colored pink and sporting long pigtails , Lily has been designed by Sesame Street to look like a 7-year-old girl . Her character confronts a growing national struggle -- food insecurity . Her story offers an optimistic scenario of how the community at large is supporting her and her family . Sesame Street and the Jim Henson Co. are introducing this new muppet in an hour-long special , `` Growing Hope Against Hunger , '' Sunday on PBS . In the special , Lily is prompted to make a revelation when one of the more popular muppets -- Elmo -- remarks that he `` did n't know there were so many people who did n't have the food they needed . '' Lily then confesses to him that she does n't know where her next meal is coming from and that times