Thousands of canned goods will be unloaded by the helpful hands of volunteers at the Brown-Lupton University Union for the fifth annual Kanstruction, the opening event for TCU’s Hunger Week, an event official said.

Senior theater major Katie Caruso said Hunger Week, celebrating its 29th anniversary this year, at the university has raised awareness and supported families and individuals who unable to purchase food. According to the Hunger Week flier, the event will benefit the Tarrant County Area Food Bank.

Rev. Jake Hofmeister, the associate chaplain of Religious and Spiritual Life and one of the organizers of Kanstruction, said 12 teams will participate in the event on campus with the help of Albertson’s, who donated over 13,000 cans for the event. Teams will construct models of a building or object by stacking canned foods. Caruso said people will be able to donate money by placing it in buckets in front of whichever structure they feel is the best. All of the proceeds go to the Tarrant Area Food Bank, she said. At the end of the week, winners of the contest will be awarded prizes, and are determined by judges who work at the food bank, Hofmeister said.

Hofmeister said finished models in the past have ranged anywhere from a replica of Amon G. Carter Stadium to a model of actual cities. Sometimes reaching up to eight feet tall and made of almost 1,000 cans, the structures tend to attract a lot of attention, he added.

Caruso, said she enjoys watching the project’s impact on the university.

“It’s pretty cool that we kind of invade the BLUU… and it’s really cool to see all these cans that will actually see people [in need].”

Every single can of food gets donated to the food bank as well, Hofmeister said.

“The food part is good, but it doesn’t really address the reason that they’re hungry…” Hofmeister said. “One of our goals is to raise awareness about the issues, because some people don’t know that there’s these issues right here in our county, right here in our city, where lots and lots of people are struggling for food.”

He hopes to attract people to the cause by intriguing them through the creative art-like sculptures of canned food within the BLUU, and that people get involved in the cause not just this week, but throughout the year.

For more information regarding Kanstruction, Hunger Week, and the event schedule, visit the Facebook event page at http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=111397572205370.