On the night of Thursday, February 26, into the morning of Friday, February 27, a team of students from Becton Regional High School will take part in the annual CANstruction event hosted by the Bergen County Office of Food Security. The overnight event challenges students to build large-scale structures entirely out of unopened cans, all while raising awareness about food insecurity.
This year marks the third time Becton has participated in CANstruction. The student team includes Akansha Sathish, Kaylie Correa, Sophia Finan, Avyukt Gupta, Meriam Hashimi, Jayden Pham, Tausifa Islam, Delila Roth-Witty, Dinmukhamed Uali, and Jeilin Valverde. They are joined by mentor students from Becton’s 2025 CANstruction team, Medhasree Suram and Evan Fonseca. The group will be chaperoned by Mrs. Angela Santacroce, Mr. Daniel Mai, and Mrs. Amanda Colangelo.
The structure Becton will be building is titled “One Third Left Hungry,” a 56-inch-tall globe designed to visually represent global food insecurity. Blue cans will symbolize Earth’s bodies of water, while green cans will represent land masses. Red cans will be placed around areas including Africa, Europe, and Asia to represent the statistic that one-third of the world does not have consistent access to adequate and nutritious food. All cans used in the build will be donated to local food pantries following the event.
The event will take place at the American Dream Mall in East Rutherford, New Jersey, and is sponsored by the Sanzari Family Foundation, which is providing the cans used in Becton’s structure. To ensure stability, students will also use cardboard between layers of cans and PVC pipes for support.
The design process involved extensive collaboration and problem-solving. Students brainstormed ideas, discussed how to best represent food insecurity, and agreed on using the one-third statistic as the foundation of their message. They used math and online tools to model the structure, first designing it on Desmos and then creating a 3D model in Tinkercad to determine accurate dimensions and ensure the structure could be built successfully.
When asked to describe Becton’s structure in three words, Mrs. Santacroce called it “intentional, urgent, impactful.” Mr. Mai added that while the design may appear simple, the challenge lies in the precision required to stack cylindrical cans of different sizes and colors to form a globe. He explained that the careful placement of each layer is what will make the structure stand out.
Build night is expected to bring challenges, including time constraints, weight distribution, and structural adjustments. Because the team has not practiced building with the actual cans and materials, adaptability and collaboration will be key. Students are prepared to make changes as needed while staying focused on the message behind their design.
Through CANstruction, Becton students are combining creativity, engineering, and service to highlight an important global issue. Their participation reflects a commitment to raising awareness, supporting local communities, and using teamwork to make a meaningful impact.
