diff --git a/date.field.inc b/date.field.inc
index 275caf8c0..9a7428e36 100644
--- a/date.field.inc
+++ b/date.field.inc
@@ -201,6 +201,7 @@ function date_field_formatter_view($entity_type, $entity, $field, $instance, $la
         }
         else {
           $variables['delta'] = $delta;
+          $item = !empty($item) ? $item : [];
           $variables['item'] = $item;
           $variables['dates'] = date_formatter_process($formatter, $entity_type, $entity, $field, $instance, $langcode, $item, $display);
           $variables['attributes'] = !empty($rdf_mapping) ? rdf_rdfa_attributes($rdf_mapping, $item['value']) : array();