Was tested on dev1.ams.pmmp.io
I found how to correctly reproduce the issue, follow these steps:
This is due to the fact that Player::setGamemode is not called when a player joined.
https://github.com/pmmp/PocketMine-MP/blob/484f2f43c0437acdf38d87097691be9eef206d40/src/pocketmine/player/Player.php#L356-L360
Notice that it does not disable hunger. This happens only here.
https://github.com/pmmp/PocketMine-MP/blob/484f2f43c0437acdf38d87097691be9eef206d40/src/pocketmine/player/Player.php#L1187-L1215
Most helpful comment
I found how to correctly reproduce the issue, follow these steps: