Agency founders at Seattle-based DNA&Stone--Chris Witherspoon, Alan Brown, Michael Boychuk and Matt McCain--went hungry over the weekend as part of a campaign and fundraising effort for the nonprofit Backpack Brigade. The organization is dedicated to feeding hungry kids throughout Washington on weekends when they don’t have access to school-provided breakfasts and lunches.  

Approximately 40,000 school-aged children in Washington state live with food insecurity, relying on school-provided meals during the week. On the weekends these kids go hungry, with few if any nutritional food options.  

To help Backpack Brigade in its mission, and to better understand what food insecurity is like, the agency founders participated in the fundraising challenge “The Hungry Weekend,” surviving on just 1,200 calories of low-nutrition foods from Friday after lunch until Monday morning breakfast.   

They created video diaries of their experiences, and an edited compilation can be seen here. According to the agency, the diaries, which were shared across social media, helped drive a nearly eightfold increase in daily donations to Backpack Brigade, funding weekend meals for 1,600 children.   

“When you feel that gnawing emptiness in your stomach all weekend, even for just a few days,” said McCain, “it’s more than a physical experience. Doing the Hungry Weekend forced me to sit with the same discomfort and anxiety thousands of kids in our state feel every weekend.”