Coming up in September, North Star Mall is hosting the 13th annual Canstruction® design/build competition. This is one of the San Antonio Food Bank’s SA Goes Orange for Hunger campaign events to raise awareness and funds for hunger relief. (North Star Mall, 2018)

After last year’s hurricane right before the building competition, San Antonio felt a collective responsibility to assist neighbors along the coastal region who were impacted and the city’s response was immediate and powerful. Canstruction® became even more important as the Food Bank warehouses were inundated with donations and the reserve supply of canned food generated by Canstruction® provided a later source of food as communities began to rebuild.

In the International Canstruction® Competition, a San Antonio team received the first-ever recognition when RVK Architects toy alligator structure entitled, “Chomping Our Way Out of Hunger” placed third among hundreds of entries. Locally, RVK’s creative Canstruction® garnered two awards – Most Cans and the coveted People’s Choice.

This year, ten teams representing the San Antonio chapters of The American Institute of Architects and the Society for Design Administration have registered to participate. Their work begins on Sunday, September 9 when they are given 12 hours to defy expectations, logic and gravity as they assemble giant sculptures using approximately 30,000 cans of food. The sculptures will remain on display throughout North Star Mall’s common areas during mall hours through Saturday, September 22.

The following day the supersized masterpieces will be judged at the Canopener awards ceremony where industry professionals and special guests will be in attendance. Teams will vie for award categories in Best Meal, Best Use of Labels, Structural Ingenuity, Best Original Design, Most Cans and Best Use of Orange. The public may also cast a vote for the People’s Choice Award to be announced on September 25, 2018. Voting instructions can be found at each structure during display at North Star Mall.

All canned goods used to create the unconventional art exhibits at North Star Mall will be donated to the San Antonio Food Bank at the close of the competition. In 13 years, Canstruction® has donated more than 472,095 pounds of food. As the major supplier of food for the hungry in Southwest Texas, the San Antonio Food Bank helps provide food for about 58,000 individuals each week through a network of more than 530 partner agencies within a 16-county service area. Every donation, every SA Goes Orange for Hunger campaign button worn and every means of public outreach helps to fight hunger and feed hope.

Donations can be dropped off at the Food Bank warehouse from 8a.m. to 5p.m. or at the San Antonio City Council district offices. More than 58,000 people in Southwest Texas rely on the Food Bank’s network of programs and services each week and more than 74,000,000 hot meals are served annually and over half a million Southwest Texans are at risk of going hungry.