The Hunger Action Heroes Are Back for San Diego Comic-Con International 2023

Last year, the world was first introduced to Hunger Halter and Demeter during San Diego Comic-Con International. Feeding San Diego’s new Hunger Action Heroes went from the page to the stage as part of the Hunger Action Hero Art Contest. The contest was a collaboration between Feeding San Diego and the Comic-Con Museum. The contest rallied local students around Feeding San Diego’s mission to end hunger through food rescue. Above all, it was a way to infuse popular culture into Feeding San Diego’s work to bring awareness to the problem of hunger in San Diego County. The Hunger Action Heroes are finally returning for San Diego Comic-Con International 2023 this year. The public is invited to interact with them during special events starting Friday, July 21:

Meet the Heroes Fighting Hunger

• A Hunger Action Hero Welcome (Friday, July 21, from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.) at the San Diego Regional Airport: The heroes will be welcoming visitors to San Diego who are arriving and ready for San Diego Comic-Con International 2023. The heroes will be in Terminal 2 arrivals, passing out flyers with information about the upcoming events they’re participating in. 
• Museum Meet & Greet (Friday, July 21, from 2 to 4 p.m.) at the Comic-Con Museum: The Hunger Action Heroes will be at the museum for a meet and greet and photo ops. Attendees will have an opportunity to get a caricature of themselves as a hunger action hero. Attendees must purchase tickets to the museum to attend. Food donations are encouraged.
• Volunteer with the Heroes (Saturday, July 22, from 1 to 3 p.m.) at Feeding San Diego: Join in the fun at a Comic-Con-themed volunteer shift alongside the Hunger Action Heroes to help sort and glean food before it goes out into the community. Costumes are encouraged, as are food donations. Attendees will have the opportunity to get a caricature of themselves s a hunger action hero. Attendees must register in advance to attend the volunteer shift.
• Panel at Comic-Con (Sunday, July 23, from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m.) at the San Diego Convention Center Room 24ABC: Those with badges to San Diego Comic-Con International 2023 can attend our panel. The Hunger Action Heroes and speakers from Feeding San Diego and the Comic-Con Museum will discuss “Leveraging the Power of Popular Culture to Inspire Change at Scale.”

Hunger Halter and Demeter at a Comic-Con 2022 panel

The Backstory of Our Heroes

The art contest garnered nearly 300 submissions from San Diego County students. After that, the two winning submissions, voted on by the community, were high school students Aiden Prior and Sirenna Ascencio. Once the contest was over, the two had the chance to see their heroes brought to life and walk through the halls of Comic-Con.

Hunger Halter and Demeter were brought to life by costume designer Allan Lavigne. They made their debut at the Comic-Con Museum in July of 2022. The costumes have been on display at the Museum since December 2022. This year, the actors who originally played the heroes return to San Diego to reprise their roles. Actors Jason Zlatkus and Tatiana Moore will again don the Hunger Halter and Demeter costumes to create awareness about Feeding San Diego’s hunger-relief services and the power of popular culture to create change at scale.  

Hunger Halter and Demeter with Aiden and Sirenna, the teenage creators of Feeding San Diego’s Hunger Action Heroes

The Panel at San Diego Comic-Con International 2023

Sunday’s panel will dive deeper into the Hunger Action Hero Art Contest. The discussion will center on the potential for collaborations like this to create long-lasting impact. Courtney Gant, senior director of advancement at the Comic-Con Museum, will join the panel along with Dana Williams, Feeding San Diego’s director of marketing & communications. The two will share the story of the inception of the art challenge.  Costume designer Allan Lavigne of Bronze Armory Studios will discuss how he brought the two winning entries to life. Rounding out the panel will be Dr. Emily Schindler, director of education at the Comic-Con Museum, Dr. Janina Scarlet from Pop Culture Hero Coalition, and pop culture scholar Dr. Michael Dando from St. Cloud State University, who will delve into the transformative potential of popular culture to inspire change at scale. 

You can learn more about the Hunger Action Heroes on our website.