The John Cooper School students to build and donate “Canstruction” house to Montgomery County Food Bank

THE WOODLANDS, TX – Students, parents, and Woodlands area community leaders packed into The Glenn Performing Arts Center at The John Cooper School for a special celebration of one of its signature programs: the Canstruction Project, in which students design, engineer, secure donations, and build a house with cans of food – all in partnership with the Montgomery County Food Bank – in an ongoing effort to fight food insecurity in our community.

After the festive dedication ceremony, complete with a live performance from the school’s drumline and several speeches, volunteer students broke down the Canstruction house and dog house built out of cans, and moved the food onto pallets for delivery to the Montgomery County Food Bank.

Student leaders from The John Cooper School’s Interact Club, Habitat Project Steering Committee, and Upper School Student Government Association united together to form the Canstruction Leadership Team with faculty, staff, and students from all grade levels. Together, the team raised $15,000 to purchase the cans needed to build the house.

“The John Cooper School’s mission is to foster an environment that enables students to become responsible citizens and leaders,” said Dr. Stephen Popp, Head of School. “Service is a major component of the student experience. We are proud to partner with The Montgomery County Food Bank to feed thousands of families, while providing a hands-on service project that drives innovation, inspires teamwork, and builds community.”

“The need for food assistance remains high amid the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and rising costs of basic needs such as healthy food,” said Kristine Marlow, President and CEO of Montgomery County Food Bank. “Community initiatives like the Cooper Canstruction project help feed the thousands of food insecure children, seniors and families throughout Montgomery County. We are so grateful and inspired by The John Cooper School’s students who are making a difference for our many neighbors in need one can at a time.”

Beyond Dr. Popp and Ms. Marlow, others who took the podium for the event included Vijay Davis, Class of 2023, who was the student team leader for the Canstruction Project as part of his duties as Student Body Service Chair.

“Around 30 million Americans are classified as ‘food insecure,’ according to the USDA,” he said. “So I feel doubly privileged to stand in front of you, both as a student and as a member of a community able to come together and raise a record amount of money for a greater cause.”

ABOUT MONTGOMERY COUNTY FOOD BANK

Montgomery County Food Bank is a nonprofit, hunger relief organization dedicated to uniting the community to fight hunger. Montgomery County Food Bank provides meals to families, seniors and children who lack access to wholesome nourishing food through a network of 70+ partner agencies, local school districts and community partners.

Through partnerships with local retailers and wholesalers, Montgomery County Food Bank receives and purposefully distributes donated and surplus food. True to its mission, Montgomery County Food Bank works alongside volunteers, corporate and community partners, and nonprofit agencies to build a community where everyone has access to sufficient, nutritious food.

Montgomery County Food Bank is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, partner of Houston Food Bank, member of Feeding Texas and distribution partner of Feeding America.

ABOUT THE JOHN COOPER SCHOOL

The John Cooper School is an independent, non-sectarian, co-educational, college preparatory day school. The school’s mission is to provide a challenging education in a caring environment to a diverse group of select students, enabling them to become critical and creative thinkers, effective communicators, responsible citizens and leaders, and lifetime learners.