Sheffield's Ian Theasby of plant-based duo 'BOSH!' joins World Vision and others at #EmptyPlates event

The campaign 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.

Activists and members of the public could take photos with the plates and post on social media with the hashtag #emptyplates.

Attending was Ian Theasby, one half of BOSH!, a duo of English plant-based chefs from Sheffield. He joined the likes of Vince Kelly from Culinary Medicine UK and Bettina Campolucci Bordi of Bettina's Kitchen, focused around sustainable cooking.

The campaign was timed to coincide with the release of the United Nations’ annual State of Food Insecurity and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) report, revealing the shocking fact that three quarters of a billion people faced hunger in 2023, equivalent to one in 11 globally.

“These empty plates represent the daily reality for hundreds of millions of people, from Gaza to Sudan, who are going hungry," as the campaign description explains. "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."