Caroline Scalf, co-chair of the Georgia Legal Food Frenzy Committee of the State Bar of Georgia’s Young Lawyers Division, speaks while Josh Kamin (from left), managing partner of King & Spalding’s Atlanta office, and Morgan Lyndall, a committee director , are watching Georgia Legal Food Frenzy’s launch event Wednesday at King & Spalding’s Atlanta office. (Photo: Everett Catts/ALM)
Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr (center) presents the Law School Food Frenzy trophy to University of Georgia School of Law student Jansen Killian (second from right), as well as fellow law students Frank Lumpkin IV (second from left) and Morgan Lyndall, co-chair of the Georgia Legal Food Frenzy Committee of the State Bar of Georgia’s Young Lawyers Division, watches. UGA won the February 13-24 event. (Photo: Everett Catts/ALM)
Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr speaks while Josh Kamin, managing partner of King & Spalding’s Atlanta office, looks on during the launch event of the Georgia Legal Food Frenzy Wednesday at King & Spalding’s Atlanta office. (Photo: Everett Catts/ALM)
A year after raising $880,248.08, the Georgia Legal Food Frenzy, the 12th annual nationwide legal industry food drive held April 17-28, is back. And this year, Georgians’ need for food donations may be at an all-time high.
“Demand in our region of the state is at pandemic levels due to the end of COVID-era programs,” said Danah Craft, executive director of Feeding Georgia (formerly the Georgia Food Bank Association). “And with inflation, so do food and fuel prices. And school will be over soon [for the summer, and] 60% of Georgia public school children are entitled to a free or discounted lunch. Therefore, the last day of school is not a happy day for many of these families. So this comes at the perfect time to help food banks provide the resources they need for what they know is coming this summer.”
Craft spoke in an interview at Frenzy’s launch event Wednesday night at King & Spalding’s Atlanta office. The event raises funds for the state’s nine food banks and is co-sponsored by Feeding Georgia, the Office of Attorney General of Georgia Chris Carr and the Young Lawyers Division of the State Bar of Georgia.
In 2022, Frenzy donations were $57,000 lower than the previous year’s record of $936,883. Like last year, the goal of the 2023 event is to raise $1 million, the equivalent of 4 million meals.
“Over the past decade, we have raised over $3.2 million to help fight food insecurity. … That equates to about 13 million meals,” Carr said during a series of speeches from Frenzy co-sponsors and event organizers. “We always had a good response.”
Like last year, he is urging all attorneys in the state to donate the equivalent of one billable hour to help the Frenzy reach its $1 million goal. Carr urged attendees at the event to contact as many attorneys they know or work with as possible to donate.
“Think what would happen in this state if every single attorney donated a billable hour to their boards. It’s transformative,” Carr said, later adding that one in eight Georgians is food insecure.
A total of 189 law firms were involved in the 2022 frenzy. Again this year teams and individuals can register for the event not only in advance but also up to the last day by visiting galegalfoodfrenzy.org.
“We couldn’t be more excited,” Craft said. “The early registrations were really good. We had a great year last year. We know we can build on that momentum this year, especially given the Attorney General’s one-hour lawsuit. I think it is absolutely critical that communities come together during this time to help the food banks and feed hungry neighbors.”
The leaders of the Frenzy Committee of the Young Lawyers Division are also excited about the return.
“It’s very exciting. … It’s just a great time to bring the legal community together to stand up for a cause. I can’t think of a better cause than that,” Caroline Scalf, the committee’s co-chair, said in an interview .
Morgan Lyndall, one of the committee’s directors, added, “Each year our fan base grows with a group of companies that continue to make this a part of their culture.” … So it’s obviously exciting for the companies to compete with each other on an annual basis. Additionally, it is exciting for our legal community to be able to make an impact on hunger at a time of hunger [dependence] at the food banks is increasing.”
Also at Wednesday’s kick-off, the winner of the Law School Food Frenzy, held April 13-24, was announced. The University of Georgia School of Law, which raised more than $23,000, took home the trophy.
