Header photo by FLICKR user Matthew Hurst
Photo link: https://www.flickr.com/photos/skewgee/5003320372/

I recently checked out the stats on hunger in the U.S. (http://www.feedingamerica.org). In 2013, 49.1 million Americans lived in food insecure households — 33.3 million adults and 15.8 million children. For the same year, 14 percent of households (17.5 million households) were food insecure, and 6 percent of households (6.8 million households) experienced very low food security. African Americans are more than twice as likely to suffer from food insecurity as their white, non-Hispanic counterparts. Food insecurity exists in every county in America, ranging from 4 percent to 33 percent of residents.

I then looked up “food insecurity.” According to the USDA, food insecurity means that “consistent access to adequate food is limited by a lack of money and other resources at times during the year.” I’m not too sure about that word “adequate.” Does “adequate” indicate food that’s also nutritious and tastes good? I venture to guess it doesn’t. I didn’t find any figures on “food choice,” but that is certainly something I value and wish upon everyone. Fortunately, I can do more than wish –- we all CAN!

Spring is here, and so is a fresh opportunity to fight hunger in our community.

For the fifth year running, area design teams have joined forces with Food Pantries for The Capital District and the community to fight hunger by creating sculptures made entirely out of canned goods. These sculptures will be on display April 1—15, 9:30 a.m. –5:00 p.m., and on April 16, 9:30 a.m.—3:00 p.m. on the 4th floor of the New York State Museum. They will feature childhood, historic, and modern day heroes — all striving to conquer hunger in our community!

Here are three ways people can participate in CANstruction.

  1. Bring canned goods to the museum to use as ballots and drop them into the bin next to your favorite sculpture(s) to help it win the Public Choice Award. Each can you drop into the bins will be donated, along with the cans in the sculptures themselves. Free parking is available next to the Museum on weekends or after 2 p.m. weekdays in the cathedral lot. Admission to the Museum is free.
  2. Help spread the word about CANstruction on your social feeds. Snap a photo of the exhibit and share it on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and other social sites along with hashtags #thecansareback and #capregcanstruction

Get a sneak peak of CANstruction here: https://www.facebook.com/nysmuseum

CANstruction is a national charity of the design and construction industry. America’s Grow a Row is likewise a national charity.