23,382 meals donated to Utah Food Bank through Artistic Food Club Canned Food Structures

In a powerful display of community spirit and creative ingenuity, the 2024 CANstruction Salt Lake City event, organized by AIA Utah in partnership with Associated Food Stores’ Food Club brand and hosted by Property Reserve Inc. (PRI), invited architects, engineers, and construction professionals to come together in the fight against hunger.

AFS team members Boyd Irving, Ashlyn Peterson, Lori Norris, Sarah Pettit, and multiple team members from our distribution facility, including Duwayne Warren and Diana Burbidge assisted in helping coordinate and deliver the Food Club items.

“A part of the new Food Club branding that was released this summer is helping to assist food insecurity,” said Boyd Irving, Associated Food Stores Vice President of Exclusive Brands. “We were pleased to help this noble effort by selling the Food Club items at cost. We’re glad to know this donation can assist the communities we serve, and in this case, in a beautiful artistic way to raise awareness around those in our community who do not know where their next meal is coming from.”

Design professionals constructed sculptures using canned food, totaling 20,058 pounds of food that was donated to the Utah Food Bank at the event’s conclusion. To put that into perspective, that’s the equivalent of 23,382 meals that will go directly to helping Utahns facing hunger across the state. In addition to the donated cans, the event raised $1,209 through People’s Choice voting. Those dollars were donated and split equally between Utah Food Bank and Utahns Against Hunger.

“Reintroducing CANstruction to Utah after a decade-long break is incredibly exciting,” said Laura Tungseth of Mohawk Group, who led the revival of the event. “This competition is a perfect example of how the power of design can go beyond creativity, turning it into a tool for community service.”

Each team was limited to 8 hours to build their structures. This year’s theme, “I-CAN-ic Utah,” inspired participants to draw from the state’s rich natural beauty, cultural landmarks, and sense of community pride. The was hosted at three prominent downtown locations provided by PRI: 95 State, 111 Main, and The Link.

With nearly 363,094 Utahns experiencing food insecurity, including many working families, the need for community support has never been more critical.

“This is the perfect opportunity for folks in the design community to come together and make an impact,” added Angie Harris Roberts of AIA Utah. “We’re grateful to the firms and businesses who are supporting their teams, to Associated Food Stores for providing discounted cans, HB for the use of their warehouse and MillerKnoll, Mohawk Group and Kimball International for covering the cost of events.  It is truly a collaborative effort.”