'Canstruction' and the belief that one can fight hunger Special
"It starts with one can." That is the call to arms, so to speak for Canstruction, the self-described "most unique food charity in the world" where architects join engineers, designers and students to build structures out of nothing more than cans of food.
Canstruction describes themselves as the "
most unique food charity in the world." Their Mission Statement:
It starts with one can. To feed the hungry. To lift the spirit. To change the world.
On November 8, 2011, the awards ceremony for Toronto's version of the
13th Annual design and build event called Canstruction, was held in the downtown area known as the Financial District.
Canstruction was
an idea conceived by the late Cheri Melillo who, in 1992 arranged for the inaugural event to be held in New York City. Melillo's vision for Canstruction was to:
Unite the design and construction community in a series of friendly competitions that actually improved the lives of the underprivileged and under served.
Ms. Melillo asked her peers in the Society of Design Administration to build a structure, in a 10'W x 10'L space, no more than 8' high, out of canned food and, make those cans look like a giant art exhibit. At the completion of the competition, all canned goods are to be donated to local food banks.
Canstruction's motto is that it all starts with 'one can.' They ask if you want to help try to end hunger 'one can' at a time, and if you really want to help stop hunger, of course, 'one can.'
In July of this year, Toronto's
Daily Bread Food Bank put out a call to those interested in entering the
annual event. All proceeds from the event go directly to the food bank.
Awards were given out in five main categories, the Juror's favorite, Structural Integrity, Best Use of Labels, Best Meal, and Honorable Mention.
Toronto's Canstruction Juror's Favorite was awarded to, who else but an Angry Bird. Entitled "Angry Birds DefEAT Hunger", the winning display was the depiction of one of the worlds most famous games taking a bite out of the word spelled in cans, HUNGER.
Angry Birds DefEAT Hunger.
The Best Use of Labels went to the display entitled "Solving out Hunger is a Genius Move." At first, it is hard to tell what the display is, you have to be at the right angle to see him, Albert Einstein.
Solving Hunger is a Genius Move
The Structural Ingenuity award went to an exhibit entitled "Shutting Out Hunger" depicting a Toronto Maple Leaf goalie set to stop a shot on his net.
Two Honorable Mention awards were given out, one to "Continuum" and the other to "Ending the Scream of Hunger."
Ending the Scream of Hunger.
The can sculptures are on display until Friday, November 11th, and are located in the four towers that make up the TD Centre at 234 Bay Street in downtown Toronto.
CANdle in the Wind...Goodbye Hunger Jean.
Toronto Truly Can Stop Hunger in its Tracks
wee wee wee CAN end hunger
Pac-Can Its Game Over for Hunger!
Lets Strive to end the mark of hunger
Donkey CAN Hunger Makes Me Bananas!
Canstruction has grown into a world wide phenomena with competitions held in over 140 cities, and over 17.5 millions pounds of food donated to date.
The Canstruction.org website reported that their Toronto, Canada Chapter collected 89,425 pounds of canned food to take
top spot amongst the 89 cities participating in the 2010-2011 season.
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