Meadowood Mall was abuzz March 11th with 13 teams separately coming together to use cans of fruit and vegetables as the brick and mortar for the building of 13 uniquely different structures in a competition designed to bring awareness of hunger in the community through the build of artistic structures using food as the medium — it was CANstruction Reno 2020. This was the 17th year that AIANN teamed with the Food Bank of Northern Nevada (FBNN) for the local CANstruction event and over 26,000 pounds (29,491 cans) of food were specially ordered for the task at hand, all of which was donated to FBNN after the event at a critical time of the year. Even more so this year as CANstruction was able to wrap up just a day or two ahead of the pandemic lockdown, giving a boost to the Food Bank shelves just in time.

Members of AIANN assisted or were part of nearly every team (Thank You!). Teams came together from all areas of the community and included students, contractors, community businesses and a local hotel-casino (and we’re sad to see Harrah’s Reno close). In the months leading up to the build day, teams schemed and planned how to build and strategically keep their structures standing within a 10’x10’x10’ space and on display for the duration of the four-day event. And they were awesomely successful! The sculptures were amazing, and the event was a huge success. The structures were judged and awarded in five different categories, along with a People’s Choice award ($1 per vote) that capped off the event. This year we had scorpions taking to the desert, aliens taking to the skies, ice cream cones toppling over, and an Orca rising out of the ocean, amongst the baker’s dozen of structures that were built.

Awards for the event are given based on various factors related to how the teams used and assemble the cans. From the People’s Choice voting, the Reno community came through donating an additional $923 that went to FBNN to purchase even more meals for those in need.

AIANN committee members and the Food Bank want to thank all of you who donated time, money, and effort to make this event the success that it has become. If you haven’t participated as part of a team for this event in years past, we encourage you to take a chance this next year. We are always looking for members to help teams (and in particular student teams) participate. It’s a great experience and a fun way to be involved in our community.

This year’s winners:

• Most Cans: ‘Transport Hunger Out of This World’, Kendyl Depoali Middle School (4,432 cans)
• Structural Ingenuity: ‘Blackfish Free,’ Mountain View Montessori Ocean CANservancy
• Best Meal: ‘Join the Resistance — End Hunger Across the Galaxy,’ Pack 46/Troop 46/Trivium Packaging
• Best Use of Labels: ‘Spike the Scorpion,’ Sage Ridge School
• Best Original Design: ‘Sculpting an End to Ameri-Can Hunger,’ AT&T Pioneers Silver State Chapter
• People’s Choice Award: ‘Sculpting an End to Ameri-Can Hunger,’ AT&T Pioneers Silver State Chapter

Photos of all of the structures have been forwarded to the national Canstruction organization for consideration of award at the international level. Reno is competing with CANstruction events taking place in over 100 cities worldwide.