Originally posted on KSAT.com, click here to read.
SAN ANTONIO – Shoppers at North Star Mall may notice something unexpected over the next two weeks — towering sculptures built entirely out of canned food.
Seven teams from San Antonio’s architecture, engineering and construction industries are participating in the 19th annual CANstruction event, transforming roughly 30,000 cans into larger-than-life works of art.
The 2026 teams include Ford, Powell & Carson, HDR & Joeris, Luna Architecture, RVK Architecture, San Antonio College, Merrick & Co., and the Southwest Research Institute.
The goal goes beyond creativity. Every can used in the competition will be donated to the San Antonio Food Bank once the event ends.
“It’s a huge thing,” said Molly Padilla of RVK Architecture. ”I love doing it because there’s so many people that love to come together and be involved in something like this.”
The annual event is designed to raise awareness about food insecurity in the San Antonio community.
Cindy Delgado, committee chair for the Society for Design Administration, said the size of these sculptures brings awareness to how many cans the community needs.
“Some of these are very large, and it brings it home to them, the need,” Delgado said. ”We’ve got a structure here of probably about 7,000 (cans) and wow, somebody thought we needed that many cans and that’s just the tip of the iceberg.”
Over 18 years, organizers said the event has donated more than 600,000 pounds of food to the San Antonio Food Bank.
“It really highlights the need for food security, and this is what we do for our part,” Delgado said.
Fundraising has also been a key component of the effort.
“We’ve raised a lot of money to do this, and we are so thankful to everybody (who has) given and provided,” Padilla said.
The sculptures will remain on display at North Star Mall through Sept. 26. Shoppers can vote for their favorite designs by scanning a QR code inside the mall.
San Antonio’s winner will move on to the International CANstruction Competition.