It was almost 5 o'clock Eastern time, and I couldn't wait any longer. I called the company that produces "Sesame Street" in New York and explained my problem to a polite young woman.
"So," she said, "you want an interview with Elmo?"
"Right," I heard myself say.
"Let me talk this out and we'll get right back to you."
Elmo, the furry red Muppet, is one of the stars of a new campaign to teach low-income kids about healthy eating. "Food for thought: Eating Well on a Budget" was formally launched this week with the help of Minnesota-based UnitedHealthcare. And as part of the publicity blitz, Elmo was granting interviews.
But like many busy celebrities, he was a bit tough to pin down.
The campaign grew out of concerns that too many kids lack access to nutritious foods, said Russell Petrella, an executive at UnitedHealth. As many as 50 million Americans don't have enough food, "or the food that's available is not nutritious," he said. Together, they're what social scientists call "food insecure." That includes about one in four children, he said, and it's gotten worse in the tough economy.
The campaign is designed to encourage kids, and parents, to seek out nutritious foods -- apples and peanut butter, for example, instead of chips -- at food shelves or farmers markets. UnitedHealth will distribute kits to its network of medical clinics with recipes, tips and DVDs starring Elmo and his friends.
