I grew up on the Street, the Sesame Street, but I am not so sure I learned my compassion for humans or recycling knowledge from the cast of puppets. Sure, I learned how to count with the Count, but I just always thought Oscar was the mean, green guy in a can. I don't think I learned anything about changing the environment from the negative Nancy who lived in the can.

Times, and the streets, have changed.

Now when children tune in to learn letters and numbers, they get a good dose of solving world problems like hunger and pollution. Watch this video to see one of the scenes from an episode of Sesame Street that aired on Tuesday, Oct. 4.

As you heard in the video, 17 million people in America lack the food they need, and 9.6 millon of those people are children. That is why Sesame Street brought the issue of hunger to their stage. Their viewers are part of the population facing hunger.

But hunger doesn't just happen in America, it happens around the world. Those Sesame Street viewers in any of the 140 countries around the world the show broadcasts to can see the affects of hunger around them. The video might highlight America, but it speaks to a larger problem. On our globe there are more than 925 million people who are malnourished or lacking the nutrients they need.

That means one in seven people in the world will go hungry tonight. Asia and the Pacific make up 62 percent of the malnourished people in the world, and as you would figure, the developed countries, such as the United States, make up the smallest percentage.

With statistics like that, it's hard to image how we can turn this food situation around. Sure, there are huge organizations around the world that deal with this issue and those are great. My heart always goes out to Africa, so organizations like the World Food Programme strike my heart. But I know the local need in America is great as well. Almost every day I am working on newsletters and campaigns for food banks across the country at my job. I have edited and placed pictures about the need for nutritious meals for people of all ages, especially children, right here in our own country.

I am glad children are being shown real life issues on shows such as Sesame Street. I don't think it is ever to early to start caring about those around you. What better place to learn about the hard facts of life than from a friendly cast of puppets.