Canstruction Orlando

The Orlando Chapter
In 1994 Amy Killgallon of Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida heard about an unusual type of Food Drive called Canstruction©. Seems that someone got the idea that it could be fun to have a competition with teams building structures using cans of food. Then when competition was completed, the food would go to area food banks. And this strange Food Drive was happening in several cities in the United States. So, Amy held the first Canstruction event in Orlando at Altamonte Mall with 5 teams participating.

The primary goals are to raise awareness of hunger problems in our community, raise volunteerism camaraderie, and raise food donations for The Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida. The event usually takes place in the Fall to help the Food Bank prepare for serving food during the busy holiday season.  Two unique things we do:  1) Develop a theme each year to inspire participation and inspire a cohesive look to the sculptures, and 2) Have signage based on the theme as part of the competition. It is always interesting to see how the teams interpret the theme differently each year. Once complete, the sculptures remain on display usually for 2 weeks. During that time, the public can vote for the “People’s Choice” sculpture, and our jury judges all of the sculptures. We then celebrate the teams with an Awards Celebration with local and national awards.

So, you see, Canstruction© Orlando is a competition, but it is a food drive to benefit Central Florida at its heart. This highly visible and unusual food drive helps bring attention to the hunger issue and, as a bonus, everyone who participates becomes part of the solution!