30-second hunger PSA puts clever twist on viral recipe videos

To make a recipe, you need ingredients. But what happens when the refrigerator is empty and the cabinets are vacant? 

For 48.1 million Americans, just keeping food on the table is a struggle that leads to rumbling stomachs. And, as one new PSA shows, hunger and food insecurity often begin with an empty plate.

Riffing off the format of those viral recipe videos that plague your Facebook feed, hunger nonprofit Feeding America and the Ad Council have released a video that shines a glaring light on hunger in the U.S. But the PSA is missing one key thing: food. 

The 30-second video features a person cutting invisible herbs, seasoning an absent filet and finishing off the bare dish with a drizzle of nonexistent sauce from an empty bowl. 

The result is a pristine white plate, devoid of any nourishment.

As the end of the PSA states, an estimated 1 in 7 Americans are living in food-insecure homes, meaning they will lack access to adequate nutrition at some point during the year.

“It is always heartbreaking to meet a mother or father who fears that they will not be able to feed their children,” Diana Aviv, CEO of Feeding America, said in a release. “They know that their children cannot reach their full potential if they don’t have enough to eat…

“We must come together and take action now — our children cannot continue to run on empty.”

The video was produced by Trisect, a small ad agency in Chicago. The spot was released in September for Hunger Action Month, which aims to boost action and awareness around hunger in the United States.

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