Hunger and the satisfaction of hunger are among the basic human needs that recur daily and must be taken care of before anything else can even be started. The economic activity of people has to do with the fulfillment of this basic need, as well as the emergence of different food cultures and common meals. Through the ages, people have often and for a long time had to put up with periods of hunger due to natural changes, such as failed harvests, climate changes, widespread diseases, or endure them due to socially caused reasons, such as warlike conflicts, social upheavals. In addition, periods of societal hunger were either caused by continuous unequal distribution of food across different population groups or these acted as amplifiers for the above reasons. Fundamental insights into hunger and its significance for individuals and societies are elaborated and considered as a significant starting point for the tasks of social work against the background of the complex interrelationships of socially caused hunger.