Every year, an incredible volunteer committee hosts the unique hunger-fighting food drive and community event called Canstruction. This international hunger-relief charity, with local chapters including Canstruction Orlando, recruits local teams to design and build impressive structures from canned and non-perishable food items. The collective effort of these teams, along with the support of the local community, results in the annual donation of millions of pounds of food for food banks like Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida.
This year’s theme, “Everyone CAN win when we light the way to a world with no hunger,” is especially poignant as we wrap up the 2024 Summer Olympics. It inspired our teams to showcase their Olympic spirit! Tackling hunger can feel like an Olympic feat, but together as a community, we CAN achieve great things.
Participating teams included Walt Disney World, FK Architecture, L2 Studio, Whiting & Turner, and Cuhaci & Peterson. Each team put its engineering skills to the test, creating inspiring structures that reflected vibrant scenes, such as crowds at the Eiffel Tower, Goofy racing for the gold, and even a classic boat cruising through the Seine River.
Special thanks to Icon Park for providing the space to showcase these remarkable structures from September 21 to September 29. This event entertained guests and served as a powerful advocacy platform, highlighting innovative ways to combat hunger in our community.
When I asked the committee why they participated, their answer was clear: “Because one in six kids in our community is at risk of going to bed hungry tonight.” Thanks to this year’s event, over 17,000 cans of food were donated to Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida —enough to provide over 15,175 meals for children, families, and seniors facing food insecurity.
A heartfelt thank you to our participants and everyone who came out to support Canstruction Orlando! Together, we are making a significant impact in the fight against hunger.
