ATLANTA, GA - Attorney General Chris Carr today joined State Bar of Georgia President Pat O’Connor, Young Lawyers Division (YLD) of the State Bar of Georgia President Jennifer Mock and Georgia Food Bank Association Executive Director Danah Craft for the 6th Annual Georgia Legal Food Frenzy Kick Off, a statewide food drive competition among Georgia lawyers. The main 2017 competition will take place April 17 – April 28, 2017.

“I am thrilled to announce that the Office of the Attorney General will continue participating in the Georgia Legal Food Frenzy competition alongside leadership from the Young Lawyers Division of the State Bar of Georgia and the Georgia Food Bank Association,” said Attorney General Carr. “This campaign will assist many families in our state by putting food on their table, and it provides an excellent opportunity for public-private sector entities to challenge each other outside the office or the courtroom for a worthy cause. We are looking forward to what we know will be another successful competition, and we are honored to do our part.”

The Georgia Legal Food Frenzy is a partnership between the Office of the Attorney General, the YLD of the State Bar of Georgia and the Georgia Food Bank Association. The competition urges lawyers across the state to raise food and funds for Georgia’s eight regional food banks—which serve 156,500 unique clients in Georgia on a weekly basis. All of the food and funds collected are donated to the regional food bank that serves each competitor’s respective community.

1 in 4 Children in Georgia are food insecure, and nearly 60 percent of Georgia’s public school students are eligible for either a free or reduced lunch each day; however, fewer than 15 percent have access to the lunch program during the summer. The competition is timed to help the food banks go into summer strong and well-stocked to meet the increased demand for food.

“Every year, the YLD looks forward to partnering with the Georgia Food Bank Association and the Office of the Attorney General for the Legal Food Frenzy,” said State Bar of Georgia Young Lawyers Division President Jennifer Mock. “We are honored to be able to help lead such a wonderful cause!”

In its first five years of competition, the Legal Food Frenzy raised the equivalent of more than 5 million pounds of food for Georgians in need.This year, Attorney General Chris Carr is challenging the legal community to raise 1.35 million pounds of food.

“We are so grateful to be continuing our work with Attorney General Carr, the State Bar, the YLD, and the legal community across the state through the Legal Food Frenzy” said Georgia Food Bank Association Executive Director Danah Craft. “Your support comes at a critical time for the Food Banks and the families they serve and will help us ensure more children have access to summer meals.”

All attorneys in Georgia, from law firms, to solo-practitioners, to public sector offices are encouraged to participate. This year, Attorney General Carr is putting an emphasis on involving in-house, corporate counsel, which has a special awards category.

Donations of both food and funds are accepted, with $1 being the equivalent to 4 pounds of food in competition totals. Because food banks are able to leverage bulk buying power and donated food channels, with every $1 donated, the Food Banks can, on average, return $8 or more in food to the community.

“I am so proud of what our legal community has accomplished these past five years. But, while the impact of the Legal Food Frenzy has been exceptional so far, there is still work to be done,” said State Bar of Georgia President Patrick T. O’Connor. “I continue to see the Legal Food Frenzy as a forum to cultivate young leaders from the YLD while also uniting the legal community to help Georgia become truly hunger-free.”

The office that raises the most food and funds statewide will be awarded the Attorney General’s Cup. The 2016 AG Cup winner was Joe S. Habachy for the third year running. Read more about awards here.

A separate, but interrelated, competition for Georgia law schools will take place March 27 – April 7. Mercer Law School won the competition last year.

The Legal Food Frenzy is spearheaded by a team of young lawyers who oversee an extensive network of city representative across the state who promote the effort locally. The 2017 co-chairs are Justin Oliverio (Atlanta), Daniel Burroughs (Augusta), Ron Daniels (Macon), Brett Adams (LaGrange), Britt Beecher (Savannah), and Patrick Cates (Athens), Tyler Pritchard (Columbus) and Cameron Roberts (Tifton).

Additional details and registration instructions can be found at www.galegalfoodfrenzy.org.