Today marks the first day of the 10th Annual Georgia Legal Food Frenzy, a two-week virtual fundraising drive fortified by Georgia’s legal community, benefitting the state’s regional food banks. The online event is presented by the Office of the Attorney General and the Young Lawyers Division (YLD) of the State Bar of Georgia, and the Georgia Food Bank Association. The competition has historically been timed to stock the food banks for the surge they experience during the summer when kids are out of school and eating more meals at home. This year and last, the Legal Food Frenzy is focused on helping the food banks respond to the unremitting increase in the number of Georgians in need of food assistance due to economic effects of the Coronavirus pandemic.
“During one of the most tumultuous years in our nation’s history, many Georgia families turned to our regional food banks to put food on their tables,” said Attorney General Chris Carr. “In fact, our Georgia Food Bank Association has been working hard to meet a sustained 50 percent increase in demand since last March. I was incredibly inspired by Georgia’s legal community for coming together to generate 3.3 million meals for our food banks last year, and this year, we are looking forward to joining our colleagues to help even more Georgians in need.”
From April 19 – 30, more than 200 law firms and legal organizations—representing over 14,000 members of the legal community—will go head-to-head, seeing who can raise the most money for their regional food bank through online fundraising.
“Georgia’s regional food banks have been engaged at the front lines of pandemic relief efforts, distributing more food into our communities than ever before,” said Callahan Roan, Corporate Partnerships Manager of the Georgia Food Bank Association. “The increased need for food assistance isn’t waning. We’re grateful to be celebrating ten years of our partnership with the legal community, and thank the Office of the Attorney General, State Bar of Georgia, and the YLD for helping to bolster the work of our food banks during this challenging time, and in years past.”
Last year’s event raised a record-breaking $854,705 for Georgia’s regional food banks. With each dollar donated, the food banks can distribute eight dollars’ worth of groceries into the community on average. For every dollar raised, teams will earn four points towards their competition score. Last year, Joe S. Habachy, P.C. won the Attorney General’s Cup with the most points earned per employee and Greenberg Traurig, LLP won the Bar President’s Award for most points earned overall.
“I am once again blown away by the philanthropic support by the members of the State Bar of Georgia. We have more members of the State Bar of Georgia registered to compete in the Legal Food Frenzy than ever before. The YLD has appointed representatives for each of the seven regional food banks to help promote the competition and ensure that food-insecure Georgians will not go hungry,” said YLD President Bert Hummel. “The past 13 months and counting have been difficult for everyone and that includes our local food banks, so the outpouring of support by the Bar before the competition has even kicked off is encouraging and a testament to our membership. I have complete faith that our donations will continue to grow this year and we will surpass our record-breaking fundraising from 2020.”
Registration for the fundraising competition is open and will remain open throughout the event until April 30. The 2021 competition will take place April 19 – 30, and is open to the entire Georgia legal community. Those who want to participate can register and learn more at www.galegalfoodfrenzy.org. Every dollar that a team raises will directly benefit the regional food bank that serves their community. The full list of 2021 competitors is listed here. You can find more information on the awards here.
