Canstruction to generate food, funds for pantries starting Feb. 20th

The United Way of Bartholomew County is announcing that Canstruction has been set for the week of Feb. 20th at Fair Oaks Mall.

The event, now in its 12th year, has design teams use colorful cans of food to build large structures in the mall. After judging, all of the cans are then donated to local food pantries including Love Chapel, the Community Center of Hope and the Salvation Army.

Magen Pillar with the United Way says that the competition is more important than ever as food pantries are seeing an increase in need because of the economic effects of Covid-19.

People are invited to vote online by donating money toward their favorites for the Peoples Choice Award. Other awards, including Best Meal, Best Use of Labels, Best Original Design, Most Cans, and Structural Ingenuity, will be chosen by a panel of judges. Photos of each structure will be posted online soon after they are complete Feb. 20.

The link where you can vote will be found at uwbarthco.org and by clicking 2021 CANstruction Voting.

United Ways Volunteer Action Center is also working with area companies to run internal canned food drives to help supplement the non-perishable goods from CANstruction.