Beyond MoCo: Art Installation Using 10,000 Plastic Forks at Freedom Plaza Spotlights Hunger Crisis

A temporary art installation during So Others Might Eat (SOME) 21st Annual America’s Trot for Hunger uses more than 10,000 plastic forks (close-up image below) to drive home the message that together we can end hunger. The artwork, inspired by the slogan Stick a Fork in Hunger and created by Virginia artist Jake Van Yahres, will be on display in Freedom Plaza on November 24th as more than 15,000 participants gather for the Trot for Hunger, the largest and onlyThanksgiving Day race in DC to fight hunger.

Per the press release: “Because we all are inspired in different ways, we wanted to see how art can provide a visual representation of the struggle of hunger and homelessness and also showcase what it looks like to help make a change in someone’s life for the better,” said Brett Curtis, SOME’s Trot for Hunger Race Director and Special Events Manager. “The mediums used to create this piece of art combined with its message is one we believe really drives home the reason why we are all gathering to make a difference at the America’s Trot for Hunger event.”

Van Yahres created the 7–feet–tall by 12–feet–wide art installation using forks and cardboard to create a visual message of hunger awareness. The art installation includes two narratives- one of a man holding a cardboard sign that reads “I’m hungry” and the flipside of the installation of forks that shows a man eating with the narrative: “Help Change the Story.”

“The slogan of this year’s Trot for Hunger, “Stick a Fork in Hunger,” posed a challenge of creating an art installation with forks. Though the slogan was intended as a metaphor, I wondered if it could be brought to life,” Van Yahres said. “I had an idea when I saw a man holding a cardboard sign that read “I’m hungry”. What if the forks stuck into cardboard could create an image?  Two items, often viewed as disposable, could, together, become a piece of art.”

The installation will be unveiled first at the SOME Break the Cycle Gala in D.C. on November 5 and then reassembled for the Trot for Hunger in Freedom Plaza on Thanksgiving Day.

America’s Trot for Hunger’s in-person event will take place on November 24, Thanksgiving morning, at Freedom Plaza. Participants joining virtually may complete a timed or untimed 5K from their neighborhood or wherever they are in the world, throughout the month of November. As a family friendly event, the Trot will have something for everyone, including:

For over 50 years, SOME has stood on the front lines of service to fight homelessness, hunger, racial inequity, and poverty in DC by providing whole person care. For more information about SOME and America’s Trot for Hunger, visit www.trotforhunger.org