'Canstruction' event feeding the Mahoning Valley
It's a unique and creative way to help feed the hungry. The first ever "can-struction" event took place at the Eastwood Mall, where several teams competed against each other, building sculptures out of canned goods.
"We are in the process of building our apple that has the heart inside just like our logo for the food bank," Renee Fuller, director of development at Second Harvest Food Bank said.
Some of the other groups built ice cream cones or hamburgers and it's all to feed our Valley.
"The mall is a great place to do it," Johnny Chechitelli, director of marketing and communications at the Eastwood Mall said. "We have a lot of people walking by, they'll see all the structures that we do and hopefully they'll donate some canned goods as well," he said.
The theme is "Summer Bites: building joy, one can at a time!" So for little Daniel Haggerty of Warren, that meant making his best s'more.
"It's awesome," Haggerty said. "One of my favorite summer treats is a s'more so that's what came to mind," he said as he built his sculpture with soda cans.
Dominic Mararri, president of senior care insurance, built a big ear of corn with is team. He tells 21 News he remembers a time when he could get 5 cans of food for a dollar and now everything has changed. Mararri said the opportunity to give back means a lot to him.
"As you're building this, it really cultivates an attitude of gratitude," Mararri said. "You know as you just think back on where we are as a country and even as a community, a lot of people are struggling," he said.
Each team has put the finishing touches on their master pieces and on Saturday, they'll be judged and awarded for their efforts.
On September 3rd, the groups will come back to "de-can-struct" their sculptures and donate the more than 6,000 cans used, to Second Harvest Food Bank of the Mahoning Valley.