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Entergy’s CANstruction event builds up food supplies to feed the community
11/14/2024
More than 10,000 canned food items donated to three area groups
A can-do spirit was in the air last week as 10 teams from Entergy Nuclear headquarters in Jackson, Mississippi took on the task of constructing canned-good creations for a worthy cause.
Teams in the CANstruction competition built canned food sculptures that were ultimately donated to three Jackson-area recipients—the Mississippi Food Network, We Will Go ministries and North Jackson Elementary, Entergy Nuclear’s adopted school.
“It started when someone mentioned that there were so many requests for food donations throughout the year that there needs to be one concerted effort,” said Earnestine Johnson, Entergy senior lead engineer and event organizer. “I happened to mention CANstruction.”
Since 1992, CANstruction events have raised millions of pounds of canned goods for food banks in participating cities around the world.
From Entergy’s project alone, families and individuals across Mississippi will receive more than 10,000 cans of food in time for the holiday season. Mississippi Food Network distributes more than 20.4 million meals each year across 56 central counties. The cans will be distributed via 430 agencies including food pantries, soup kitchens and daycare centers.
We Will Go, a Jackson-based ministry, will use the canned goods to help feed the 20,000 individuals the ministry serves each year. Children and older adults comprise 64 percent of those receiving spiritual and physical support.
“Entergy employees have volunteered at both the MFN and We Will Go ministries, and we’ve seen what they do for the community,” said Joe Pennington, Entergy quality assurance senior manager. “I appreciate working for a company that encourages us to give back to the community through volunteer events such as this.”
Entergy Nuclear’s adopted school, North Jackson Elementary, is another beneficiary of the company’s generous spirit and ongoing volunteer support.
Noting the power of this partnership in helping her students, first-grade teacher Regina Carpenter said, “Not only are we building impressive structures, we're also building hope and support for those in need. We're grateful for Entergy's dedication to making a meaningful impact and for inspiring others to join in creating positive change."
To acquire the canned goods, the groups were encouraged to be resourceful: They had the option to host food drives, request food donations or discounts from local stores, ask team members to pitch in extras from home or host fundraisers for the purchase amount.
Over the course of the three-day contest, each team was given six hours to build its display.
At the end of each day, a team of judges and employees viewed the creations. In all, 10 structures were on display—including a nuclear cooling tower, complete with real steam rising from its stack; an intricate mini version of the Mississippi state capitol building and a twinkly rendition of Van Gogh’s “The Starry Night.”
Judges awarded prizes in four categories:
- First place: team OPSelicious, for “Mississippi Capitol Building”
- Second place: team We Are the Canpions, for “A Chili Starry Night”
- Third place: the Echelon Isotopes, for “R2-D2”
- Most cans: team OPSelicious, for “MS Capitol Building”
- The people’s popular choice, based on polled attendees, was used to break the tie for first, second and third places. The award was presented to the Fuel Cyclists for their creation “Food is Fuel.”
“I honestly was in awe of these CANstruction projects,” said Sam Wells, Entergy communications specialist and event judge. “The teams put a lot of thought and work into them and it’s great knowing these canned goods will be going to help our local communities.”
