For the third year in a row, Texas ranks No. 1 in the country for the number of people experiencing hunger. During Hunger Action Month, an unusual art exhibit at NorthPark Center in Dallas is drawing attention to the issue — with more than 120,000 cans of food. Canstruction Dallas has transform ed the cans into elaborate sculptures that will eventually help feed North Texans. “There’s over 120,000 cans that you see in these structures here,” said Rachel Gruber with Canstruction Dallas. This year’s theme, “League of Uncanny Villains,” turns familiar villains into larger-than-life canned-food creations, giving the exhibit a playful way to address a serious problem. “I love our theme this year; it is the League of Uncanny Villains. Hunger really is the villain, and we are trying to give these iconic pop sculptures a heroic purpose,” said Gruber. Some of the sculptures are immediately recognizable. Others become clearer when viewed through a camera. “And then we can see in full exactly what it is, and it’s crazy because it really comes to life in the picture,” said Elise Riter. The canned-food building blocks are designed to make shoppers stop, look and think about people experiencing hunger. Nearly 1.4 million people in North Texas are experiencing hunger, including one out of every four children. “The populations of Plano and Denton combined is the number of children who are food insecure just here in North Texas,” said Gruber. Visitors can vote for their favorite Canstruction creation with a $5 donation. The money raised and all of the cans used in the sculptures will go to the North Texas Food Bank. “It’s so important because every dollar that is given to them is 3 meals. Our votes are 5 dollars, therefor every vote that you put in is 15 meals going directly onto somebody’s table, directly into our community,” said Gruber. Voting runs through Sept. 13, when the Canstruction exhibit at NorthPark Center also ends. This story was originally reported for broadcast by NBC DFW. AI tools helped convert the story into a digital article, and an NBC DFW journalist edited it again before publication. ...read more read less