Today, Attorney General Sam Olens was joined at the State Capitol by Georgia State Bar President Robin Frazer Clark and Georgia Food Bank Association Executive Director Danah Craft to launch the 2013 Georgia Legal Food Frenzy, a statewide food drive competition among Georgia lawyers. The second annual competition will take place April 22, 2013 – May 3, 2013.

The Georgia Legal Food Frenzy is a partnership between the Georgia Attorney General, the State Bar of Georgia Young Lawyers Division (YLD) and the Georgia Food Bank Association. Lawyers statewide are challenged to compete outside the courtroom to raise food and funds for Georgia’s seven regional food banks, which work with more than 2300 partner agencies and pantries to distribute over 90 million pounds of food annually to all 159 counties in Georgia. Last year, Georgia lawyers generously donated the equivalent of over 612,000 pounds of food.

The competition will occur as food banks are preparing for the critical summer months when they see a spike in demand. Nearly 60% of Georgia’s public school students are eligible for either a free or reduced lunch each day, and families of many of these children rely on food banks to provide a complete, balanced meal when their children are not in school. All of the food collected will be donated directly to the regional food bank that serves each competitor’s community.

“The Legal Food Frenzy is a great opportunity for Georgia lawyers to challenge each other outside the courtroom for a noble cause – reducing hunger in Georgia,” said Olens. “I was thrilled by the tremendous response to last year’s competition and look forward to an even more successful drive this year. I encourage each and every lawyer in Georgia to join us in lending a helping hand to our less fortunate neighbors.”

“We are all called into the profession of law to serve others. Food is a basic need of all 10 million Georgians; yet, sadly, too many of our fellow Georgians cannot meet this basic need for themselves and their precious children,” said Clark. By participating in the Legal Food Frenzy, the legal community can help meet this critical need of our fellow man and know we have truly helped serve another.”

“The timing of this competition comes at a critical time for the regional food banks to help them meet the increased demand for food during the summer months when kids are out of school,” said Craft. “The Young Lawyers Division of the State Bar of Georgia has shown its ability to lead statewide by recruiting 55 City Reps in 44 cities to help recruit firms to compete. We know that the food and funds raised during this competition will make a difference in their communities.”

“The YLD is excited to partner again with Attorney General Olens for the second annual Legal Food Frenzy,” said YLD President Jon Pannell. “We hope to exceed this year’s goal of raising over 750,000 pounds of food for Georgia's food banks.”

All attorneys in Georgia, from law firms, to solo-practitioners, to public sector offices are encouraged to participate. The office which raises the most food and funds statewide will be awarded the Attorney General’s Cup. Awards will also be given to the winners of several different categories. The winner of the 2012 competition, solo practitioner Adrienne Hobbs, raised over 25,000 pounds of food.

Registration begins today. Additional details and registration instructions can be found at the www.galegalfoodfrenzy.org.