It was written by group members Sian Evans, Darren Beale, and Mark Morrison and produced by Decoder & Substance.

A drum and bass track with folk-pop influences, "Hungry" was released as the fourth single (and sixth overall) from Kosheen's 2001 debut studio album, Resist, on 22 April 2002.

[5] Reviewing the song on 8 April 2002, British trade paper Music Week listed it as a "recommended" single, comparing the track to the folk-pop sound of singer-songwriter Dido combined with an "unfussy, accessible drum & bass musical template" and calling it an "absolute treat".

[12] Elsewhere in Europe, "Hungry" charted for five weeks in Germany, debuting at its peak of number 79 in early September.

[14] In Australia, the song picked up support from radio and dance clubs, allowing it to reach number 53 on the ARIA Singles Chart and number seven on the ARIA Dance Singles Chart;[15] on the former listing, it spent four weeks in the top 100, while on the latter, it accrued nine weeks in the top 25.