Michelle Obama figured out the secret to getting kids to eat more fresh produce: she called in the gang from Sesame Street.
Elmo and Rosita joined the first lady in the State Dining Room Wednesday as new members of her “Let’s Move” campaign, which encourages children to stay active and eat healthy. Obama announced a new initiative which will put Sesame Street character stickers and posters on and around produce at the market. For the campaign, Sesame Workshop has agreed to waive their licensing fees to the characters for two years.
“Just imagine what will happen when we take our kids to the grocery store, and they see Elmo and Rosita and the other Sesame Street Muppets they love up and down the produce aisle,” Mrs. Obama said. “Imagine what it will be like to have our kids begging us to buy them fruits and vegetables instead of cookies, candy and chips.”
That isn’t just wishful thinking: a new study from Cornell University shows that kids are twice as likely to choose an apple over a cookie when it has an Elmo sticker, than when no sticker is present.
Evan Puschak