Need for the project

1. Ido Farhi ~ Texas Christian University ~ Class of 2010 CLP Fellow So what is Kanstruction? By the time you finish this paragraph, more than 84 people will no longer be living due to death from a hunger related illness, but the good news is you can do something about it! Kanstruction combines the enthusiastic spirit of a design/build competition with a unique way to help feed hungry people. Competing teams, led by student groups, showcase their talents by ingeniously designing colossal sculptures built entirely from canned goods. All cans are donated to the Tarrant Area Food Bank following Dekanstruction. On average over 5000 cans are collected every year. Overcoming Challenges The greatest challenge to making Kanstruction a success was finding teams to compete; especially in the first years of the event because people simply hadn’t heard of Kanstruction. We set out on a campaign to recruit teams and contacted anybody we could - from Greek organizations to residence halls and everyone in between. Even then, only a few joined. At the end we were able to garner the support of about 7 teams on average per year. At present, many teams make it one of their main events every year, but finding additional teams remains a challenge. Beyond that location has also been a challenge for Kanstruction – with the demise of the old student center, we were left scouring for a new venue. Luckily the recreation center opened its doors last year, and starting this year the new student union will become home to Kanstruction. Why Kanstruction? Traditional canned food drives employ putting bags out in the hopes that people will collect and/or buy cans and bring them to donate. This premise often proves to be ineffective and unsuccessful in collecting cans. We wanted to come up with a more effective way that will get people excited about collecting and donating. The result is Kanstruction at TCU, which was first inspired by the national Canstruction competition that employs national corporations. While Canstruction is effective, it doesn’t involve individuals or communities. Kanstruction seeks to fill the gap by letting anyone form a team and compete with the common goal of helping the community. However, Kanstruction wouldn’t exist without Hunger week, which is a weeklong annual effort to raise awareness and funds to help relieve hunger in the Tarrant county area and beyond. Kanstruction promotes these goals by attracting attention to hunger week as a result of the colossal structures the teams create. • Need for the project • In the 13 north central Texas counties served by Tarrant Area Food Bank (TAFB): • The population is about 3 million residents • Almost 430,000 of these Texans live in extreme poverty and often don’t have enough to eat. • More than 140,000 of them are children. That’s nearly one-fifth (19.5%) of all children living in this area. • In Tarrant county, almost 234,000 individuals, including more than 96,000 children, live in extreme poverty. • Among all households served by TAFB: • 55% have a total annual income of less than $10,000 from employment, pensions, or some form of Social Security • 50% have to choose whether to buy food or pay for utilities • 46% must choose whether to pay for medicine or groceries. A true legacy: First and foremost the intention for the event was to leave a legacy in an event that would annually promote can collection. We can’t solve world hunger, but we can make a difference and improve life for many people. Secondly, as Kanstruction gains awareness every year, additional teams should compete and raise increasing number of cans. This year, the 4th annual Kanstruction will take place at TCU. It has now become an integral part of TCU’s culture. “On the path to eliminating hunger.” ~Ido Farhi, Class of 2010