By: Julia Mertes, Communications Intern, The Lion’s Pantry
Students flock to the The Lion’s Pantry Canstruction® event to view the featured student-made structures created entirely from non-perishable packaged foods — items that will then be donated to The Lion’s Pantry to help students facing food insecurity.
Penn State community members visited the exhibit showcasing structures created by the American Society of Civil Engineers, the Schreyer Student Council and The Lion’s Pantry on Monday and Tuesday, April 11-12 in HUB Room 131 on Penn State University Park’s campus.
All Canstruction® structures were created in accordance with the Children’s Story Book event theme.
The Lion’s Pantry created a train structure with their designated food products, while the American Society of Civil Engineers created The Cat in the Hat’s classic hat image and the Schreyer Student Council constructed the Lorax figure from Dr. Seuss’s famous book.
The Canstruction® program showcases The Lion’s Pantry’s impact within the University Park campus community and highlights the importance of critical efforts to eradicate hunger entailed with food insecurity.
The Lion’s Pantry also hosted a reception on Monday evening to highlight their Canstruction® program, which was an event that included free food, door prizes offering gift cards to local establishments and increased community awareness directed toward food insecurity.
At the reception, The Lion Pantry received the Best Use of Labels award for their train creation. The Schreyer Student Council won the Structural Ingenuity Award, the Best Meal Award and the Judge’s Choice Award for their Lorax structure.
Schreyer Student Council member Suzanne Kozloski said her group “really thought about how [they] could connect [their] structure to the mission of The Lion’s Pantry.”
After deliberation, Kozloski (sophomore-biochemistry and molecular biology) said her group thought the Lorax was “a great way to connect the two” goals, especially since the Lorax is associated with sustainability.
“We didn’t really know what to expect,” Kozloski said. “At first we had a really complex structure with the Lorax standing up, but we ended up changing plans.”
Kozloski said the Schreyer Student Council participants modified their original plans upon arrival and “just tried the best [they] could” to achieve their vision.
She said she was proud of their final product and the positive community response their Lorax structure received.
Taylor Dorsett, incoming president for The Lion’s Pantry, said via press release that she’s “looking forward to emphasizing the necessity of collaboration during [her] presidency” since “it’s crucial that we, as a university, come together to better serve our students.”
Dorsett’s vision for increased collaboration between The Lion’s Pantry and other Penn State organizations was promoted throughout the Canstruction® reception by speakers and club members.
Outgoing 2021-2022 Penn State Student Body President at The University Park Undergraduate Association Erin Boas and the incoming President Najee Rodriguez spoke at the Canstruction® reception about the previous and upcoming collaboration of UPUA and The Lion’s Pantry.
Boas and Rodriguez focused their speech on the Student Advisory Board on Student Poverty, a recently-formed group dedicated to tackling poverty gaps at Penn State.
“The purpose and point of creating this partnership between students and also the institution is to really elevate student needs, fill in those gaps that are currently [facing] the institution and make sure that all of the resources are accessible to students and that students really know what’s happening,” Boas (senior-international relations and affairs) said.
Rodriguez then discussed the opportunities created by the Student Advisory Board on Student Poverty in order to bridge the gap and address the issues causing food insecurity and other forms of financial strain.
“Students should want to be able to get the support that they need and the support that they deserve,” Rodriguez (junior-international politics) said. “I mean, the cost of Penn State is increasing each and every year, and it’s becoming unaffordable for a lot of students within the Commonwealth, but also outside, and that should be the number one priority for our university at this point.”
Throughout the two-day event, The Lion’s Pantry aimed to collect non-perishable food items to benefit students within the Penn State community who may need assistance. Additionally, The Lion’s Pantry thanks its sponsors, including the Penn State Educational Office Professionals (PSEOP) Outreach Committee!
Dorsett said she hopes other student organizations come to the Canstruction® event and desire to coordinate a similarly unique program — an event that provides awareness and support for those facing food insecurity but is also different from the typical food drives.
She said she’s excited to collaborate with other student groups at Penn State in order to create engaging events that raise awareness about food insecurity in creative and social ways.
“I’m excited to see who comes to Canstruction® because I feel like we have a lot of campus support, but sometimes they don’t really know where to find us, especially since the main facility is kind of out of the way,” Dorsett (junior-biobehavioral health) said when interviewed at the event. “I’m hoping that having an event very central to campus in the HUB will help with visibility for next year to possibly bring in more volunteers and collaborations.”
Canstruction® volunteer Elon Bowie said she’s enjoyed volunteering at the event and seeing the creative structures her peers made out of everyday food products.
“It’s a great way for people in The Lion’s Pantry to get the word out about [their work] because a lot of people at Penn State don’t necessarily know where The Lion’s Pantry is and how there’s a lot of food options when you go to the pantry,” Bowie (junior-human development family studies) said. “I’m most excited to have a lot of people come to the event to learn about these opportunities.”
Bowie said she hopes the event prompts more students to volunteer with the Lion’s Pantry and make donations to help those in need of assistance.
“The Canstruction® event just shows people’s creative and artistic talents while still getting the word out about The Lion’s Pantry — about what we do — and just making sure that people [experiencing] food insecurities have food to eat because college is expensive, and it can be [tough] trying to find good meals to eat [around] campus,” Bowie said.
Bowie said she enjoyed watching the different student organizations work together, often following carefully drawn out diagrams, to complete their desired structures.
“I just thought it was very interesting how dedicated a lot of these members were to creating structures out of cans,” Bowie said. “It’s pretty cool and artistic because that’s not necessarily something someone does every day.”
Alexis Keisewetter said she decided to volunteer at the Canstruction® event through her sorority, which partnered with The Lion’s Pantry for this event to help serve throughout the day and monitor activities.
“It’s really cool that they’re doing this, especially in the HUB where a lot of people walk around all day and can see it,” Keisewetter (junior-secondary English education) said. “So, hopefully some people will stop in, take a look and maybe donate or follow The Lion’s Pantry in the future.”
Keisewetter said she’s “never seen something like [the Canstruction® event] before” and found the structures to be “really cool,” especially the one depicting the Lorax — the structure she described as her personal favorite.
“I really like giving back to the community, and I try as much as I can on Penn State’s campus to be able to do little things like just sitting here, showing off some cans and giving back,” Keisewetter said.
She said she enjoyed volunteering with The Lion’s Pantry and hopes the Canstruction® event increases awareness within the student body about the work being done around them to combat food insecurity.
To learn more about how to get involved with The Lion’s Pantry by following us on social media, joining The Lion’s Pantry Ambassadors or contacting us with your inquiries.
