Orlando is a chartered city of the national organization Canstruction^®. Organizations interested in participating in the Orlando competition register and compete in the Orlando event in October. Groups interested in producing a Canstruction structure outside of the competition will have to negotiate the opportunity with the National organization. Information is available at http://www.canstruction.org.

In 1994 Amy Killgallon of the 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 the competition was completed, the food would go to the 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 the Altamonte Mall with 5 teams participating.

A lot has changed over the years – rules, creativity, inventiveness and urgency. But one thing remains consistent – groups of individuals form teams all over the world and build wacky structures of all types with all the food going to Food Banks to help in the fight against hunger in their local communities.

Orlando has produced an event every year since 1994. Over the years we have collected over 306,000 cans, boxes, or bags of food and raised over $37,000 in donations through the People’s Choice award for a favorite structure. We have had strong support from the Design Community and in particular, the Society for Design Administration and the American Institute of Architects.

But it really comes down to helping our neighbors here in Central Florida and having fun at the same time. We encourage schools, local organizations and firms to consider having a team.

Have questions? Drop us a line.