Attorney General Chris Carr announced that registration is open for the 9th Annual Georgia Legal Food Frenzy, a statewide food and fundraising competition among Georgia’s lawyers to help end hunger across the state. The 2020 competition will take place April 20 – May 1, and is managed in partnership with the Office of the Attorney General, the State Bar of Georgia, the Young Lawyers Division (YLD) of the State Bar of Georgia and the Georgia Food Bank Association. 

“The Georgia Legal Food Frenzy is an incredible cause, and every year I see increased engagement and passion from lawyers across the state,” said Attorney General Carr. “We are excited to kick these efforts off once again. Last year, we instituted the Billable Hour Challenge, because we know time is a lawyer’s most valuable asset. We figured what better way to dedicate our time than to fighting hunger and ensuring our kids don’t have to wonder when their next meal will be. For this reason, I challenged each lawyer across the state to donate the equivalent of one billable hour during the competition, and we were blown away by those who stepped up to complete the challenge. We hope that this year will be another record-breaking year in support of Georgia families all across the state.” 

Those who want to participate can register and learn more at www.galegalfoodfrenzy.org.

“We are so grateful to continue this partnership with the Office of the Attorney General, the Georgia State Bar, and the Young Lawyers Division,” said Executive Director of the Georgia Food Bank Association, Danah Craft. “In the last eight years of the Georgia Legal Food Frenzy, Georgia’s legal community raised the equivalent of 9.6 million meals for the food bank network. This year we expect to surpass the 10 million meal milestone. We are incredibly grateful for our partners’ continued passion to help end hunger in Georgia and we cannot wait to see the impact made this year!” 

Nearly 1 in 5 children in Georgia are at risk for hunger, and over 60 percent of Georgia’s public school students are eligible for free or reduced-price meals each day. For these kids, the last day of school is not always a happy one. Over the summer, their families often struggle to put enough food on the table without the daily guarantee of school meals. This is where the food banks and Georgia’s legal community come in.

"The State Bar is excited to participate in the Legal Food Frenzy for the ninth consecutive year," said State Bar of Georgia President Darrell Sutton. "I am grateful Attorney General Carr has once again provided Georgia's legal community the opportunity to ensure those who need food – a basic necessity - have access to it. YLD Legal Food Frenzy Co-chairs Morgan Lyndall and Veronica Rogusky have been working closely with the Attorney General's office and the Georgia Food Bank Association with a sharp focus on drumming up more statewide participation than ever before. Please join me in supporting this great cause."

The Legal Food Frenzy is perfectly timed to stock the food banks for the summer when need increases. We compete to raise food and funds for people like Teresa, a mother who is working full time while raising a 9-year-old daughter and 15-year-old son on a tight budget. Over the summer months, she struggles to make ends meet because her kids no longer have access to the free meals provided at school during the academic year. Teresa said, “during the school year I can provide enough food, but in the summer it gets frightening. It seems to cost me ten times more to feed the kids since they’re not receiving free meals at school. To make up for it, we all skip breakfast, and I feed them what I can for lunch.”

Last summer, Teresa and her children started receiving food through one of her food bank’s many agency partners. Now, she says her family doesn't suffer as much as they used to during the summer months and she can instead concentrate on continuing to work. As leaders in the community, we commit to this cause every year because there is no reason any child or any person should go hungry in Georgia. It is our responsibility to ensure that families like Teresa’s can grow, thrive, and have every chance at a bright future. 

The 8th Annual Legal Food Frenzy in 2019 raised a record $421,066 and 17,617 pounds of food, the equivalent of over 1.7 million meals for Georgia’s food banks. Last year’s Attorney General’s Cup winner was Joe S. Habachy, PC, Attorney at Law of Atlanta with the most raised per employee and the Bar President’s Award went to Coleman Talley LLP of Valdosta who raised the most overall.

The competition is open to all lawyers in the state of Georgia with special awards categories for sole proprietors, small, medium and large-sized firms as well as corporate/in-house counsel, judges and legal organizations. For the purpose of the competition, every 1 dollar raised equals four points and every one pound of food raised equals one point, with various bonus point opportunities. All of the food and funds collected are donated to the regional food bank that serves each competitor’s respective community.