The concept is simple, although the builds are anything but. Teams of architects, engineers, contractors, designers, and students collect thousands of cans of food, then use them to construct large-scale sculptures. The structures are displayed for the community before being carefully dismantled, with every can donated to a local food bank.
The first official CANstruction competition was held in New York City in 1993, inspired by earlier events in Denver and Seattle. Founder Cheri Melillo envisioned a way for professionals across the design and construction industries to have fun while giving back. That idea grew into a national movement supporting hunger relief in communities across the country.
Anchorage’s history with CANstruction may stretch back even further. While Food Bank of Alaska currently recognizes 2026 as the local competition’s 17th year, recently uncovered records show that Anchorage elementary schools participated in a version of the event as early as 1991. By 1992, local businesses were joining the effort.
The 2026 CANstruction competition was held April 11-23 at Dimond Center. This year’s theme, Dragons, challenged teams to turn ordinary cans and packaged foods into legendary creatures, castles, ships, and scenes inspired by mythology and popular culture.
Fifteen companies formed nine teams for the competition, bringing their designs to life during build day before the structures were evaluated by four judges.
Visitors to Dimond Center had more than a week to explore the finished creations and see what can happen when technical expertise meets a very good cause.
The team constructed a dragon boat display, bringing the event theme to life through a structure inspired by the traditional vessels known for their colorful dragon designs.
This team created a detailed Viking scene complete with a ship, dragon imagery, and a dramatic landscape assembled from cans and packaged food.
Inspired by a certain fairy-tale kingdom, the team built a towering castle scene with turrets, walls, and a colorful dragon at its center.
Their sprawling structure depicted a giant dragon resting among mountains, using rows of carefully arranged cans to create the landscape and the creature’s enormous form.
Candace was a friendly, freestanding dragon with bright eyes, wings, and a big personality. The design gave this year’s theme a warm, community-focused spin.
The team created a colorful tribute to the small but mighty dragon, using circular walls of cans and carefully placed details to capture the character’s recognizable look.
This distinctly Alaskan creation paired a hunter with a dragon inspired by the northern lights, blending local storytelling with the competition’s fantasy theme.
The team constructed a red dragon guarding a massive golden hoard, transforming cans and packaged foods into a scene worthy of an epic adventure.
With wide wings, a detailed body, and a familiar silhouette, this low-profile structure recreated the beloved black dragon almost entirely across the floor of the display area.
The full lineup included nine imaginative interpretations of the dragon theme, ranging from castles and Viking legends to recognizable characters and uniquely Alaskan stories.
The 2026 competition recognized teams in several categories:
Most Cans: DOWL, HDR, and Michael Baker International
Best Use of Labels: Enterprise Engineering, Inc.
Best Meal: RESPEC, Roger Hickel Contracting
Structural Ingenuity: Enterprise Engineering, Inc.
Best Original Design: DOWL, HDR, and Michael Baker International
When the final structure came down, the impact remained. The nine teams used 23,621 cans, contributing a total of 23,366 pounds of food to Food Bank of Alaska.
Those donations come at an important time. Food donations have declined, requiring Food Bank of Alaska to purchase a growing share of the food distributed through our statewide network. This summer, an estimated 35,000 Alaska children may also miss up to two meals each day while school is out.
CANstruction helps fill that gap while inviting the community to see food donations in an entirely new way. Every can placed, every hour spent building, and every wildly ambitious dragon helped provide food for Alaskans.
Thank you to the participating companies, student builders, judges, volunteers, sponsors, and Dimond Center for making CANstruction 2026 possible. You did not just build dragons. You helped slay hunger.