The story, told without words, is a morality tale about greed and gluttony in contemporary society.

Peter Foldes worked in collaboration with the National Research Council Canada's Division of Radio and Electrical Engineering's Data Systems Group, who decided to develop a computer animation application in 1969.

[1][2] Burtnyk worked as lead animator on the NRC project, and he wrote the computer program code.

[1][3] In 1997, Burtnyk and Wein earned an Academy Award for Technical Achievement in computer animation for their "pioneering work" on Hunger.

[2][3][4][7] The Ottawa International Animation Festival paid tribute to Burtnyk and Wein in 1998, saying that "their work led the way for a flood of technological innovations in Canada and beyond.