Empty plates event at Kings Cross

Charity event at Kings Cross highlights global food crisis with #emptyplates 

Hunger campaigners, activists and chefs around the world launched a new campaign on Thursday 25 July to highlight the global food crisis.

The #emptyplates initiative is organised by Hungry for Action, a coalition of international and UK organisations including World Vision, calling on governments to action a global plan to tackle the deepening crisis.

It uses the idea of an empty plate to symbolise the reality for hundreds of millions of people who are going hungry in the world today. A global IPSOS study conducted across 16 countries around the world on behalf of World Vision last year found that more than one in five parents said their children had gone to bed hungry in the past month.

Events in London and Rio de Janeiro marked this launch, where food trucks took empty plates, inscribed with slogans about the food crisis, to prominent locations. Activists and members of the public could take photos with the plates and post on social media with the hashtag #emptyplates.

The campaign is timed to coincide with the release of the United Nations’ annual State of Food Insecurity and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) report on 24 July. The report shows that global hunger has continued to increase due to conflict, climate change and economic pressures, also revealing the shocking fact that three quarters of a billion people faced hunger in 2023, equivalent to one in 11 globally.

Also on 24 July, Brazil, as President of the G20 group of the world’s largest economies, announced a Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty. The Hungry for Action campaign is urging governments to support it as a positive step towards global collaboration.

Quote from the Hungry for Action campaign:

“These empty plates represent the daily reality for hundreds of millions of people, from Gaza to Sudan, who are going hungry. We want to show the leaders of the world’s richest countries that people everywhere are outraged by hunger and malnutrition and want their governments to take urgent, coordinated action to stop it.”

Fola Komolafe MBE DL, CEO of World Vision UK, says:

“We are in the midst of a devastating global food crisis. And it is only getting worse. The truth is that our food systems are catastrophically broken. A huge amount of food is thrown away every single day while all over the world children starve and suffer due to lack of food and nutrition. Together, our ambition is to help end hunger and malnutrition for children everywhere.”