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Home Get Involved How to run a fun food drive (CANstruction)

How to run a fun food drive (CANstruction)

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Build a heart using canned food and non-perishable items, then donate it to help stock our community pantries this winter.

Turn food donations into something fun and meaningful.

CANstruction is a creative way to help people in need across Canberra. You simply build a structure using unopened canned food and other non-perishable items, then donate everything to our Communities at Work food pantries. It’s perfect for schools, workplaces, families or friends, and it helps feed locals doing it tough.

Get creative all year round

You are welcome to create any shape or structure. From towers and animals to logos and mascots, the choice is yours. All donations must be unopened, non-perishable, and within their use-by dates.

This activity is inspired by Canstruction, an international charity that raises awareness of hunger while collecting food for local food banks.

Here’s how to start:

1. Choose your format and theme

Collaboration: Build one or more structures together as a team. Set up your CANstruction in a public space like a foyer, shopfront or lunchroom to inspire others to donate too.

Competition: Organise teams and compete for categories like most cans collected, most creative structure or best overall design. Both options build team spirit and have a big impact.

Pick a theme to guide your design, choose one for everyone or let each team create their own.

2. Lock in your dates

Decide when your food drive starts and finishes.

Set a day for judging if you’re making it a competition. A clear timeframe helps your team stay focused and builds excitement!

3.Register your drive

Fill out the registration form
We’re here to help every step of the way. If you have any questions, you can contact our team on 6293 6500, email admin@commsatwork.org

4. Download the toolkit

Click here to get everything you need to run and promote your drive.

– A printable poster

– Social media graphics and text

– A suggested food donations list

– Award certificates and a Certificate of Appreciation

5. Build your structure

Get your team building!
Create something eye-catching using canned and non-perishable food items. Share photos or videos throughout your build to encourage more donations and community buzz.

6. Judge and celebrate

Set up a judging panel and recognise your teams with award certificates from the toolkit. You can even invite a Communities at Work team member to take part.

7. Donate and share

Pack up the food and deliver it to one of our centres in Tuggeranong or Gungahlin.

Let us know your delivery date in advance.
Don’t forget to thank your supporters and send us your best photos — we may feature them to inspire others!

Register today and start creating something that makes a real difference for the Canberra community.

Food/Clothing Donation Drive

Thank you for choosing to support Communities at Work. Every donation goes directly back to the community. Please fill the form below - this will help us make your donation process seamless. Our team will be in touch with you to confirm your drop-off. Thanks for making a difference to those who need the most in our community!

Contact Details

Name(Required)
If this donation is on behalf of an organisation, please inform the organisation name.

Drop off booking

Please note: Small food donations (e.g. a couple of bags of food) can be drop off to multiple locations - no booking required.
Visit our Donate Food and Other Essentials Page to find a drop off point near you.
Big volumes of food donations (e.g. multiple boxes or pallets), require bookings.

What are you donating?
Preferred Drop off location(Required)
DD slash MM slash YYYY
Drop offs can be booked from Monday to Friday.

Acknowledging Your Support

We would like to say thanks and promote our supporters.
If you are an individual, we can give you a shout out on our socials. Sharing your testimonial might inspire others to also lend a helping hand.
If you are donating on behalf of an organisation, please send your logo in PNG to marketing@commsatwork.org

Can we use your testimonial in our marketing materials?(Required)
How did you hear about us?(Required)

Resources in the Toolkit

Here are some words to help you promote your CANstruction. You can, of course, use your own words too!

TEXT

We’re running a CANstruction Challenge to help stock local community food pantries for people across Canberra doing it tough.

The idea is simple. Collect canned food and essential pantry items, then work together to build something creative. It could be a tower, animal, logo, mascot, or anything your team can imagine.

Once the challenge is over, all donated items will go to Communities at Work community food pantries to help local families and individuals in need.

Get your school, workplace, sports club, family or friends involved, choose a theme, and start building for a good cause.

Judging will be held on [insert date].

Find out more about Communities at Work and how they support the Canberra community:
https://www.commsatwork.org/get-involved/

Download the poster to place in your workplace/community space to spread the word about your donation drive and where to bring their donations.

Download Poster

To help with your judging, here are some award certificates you can use. There’s even a blank one if you want to create your own category.

  • People’s Choice Winner – Structure that is most popular.
  • Most Creative Winner – Structure that is most interesting.
  • Most Cans Winner – Structure with the most cans.
  • Best Meal Winner – Structure with the healthiest ingredients.
  • Blank Award  – Create your own award category.

Download the award certificates

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