Leading Georgia lawyers on Wednesday encouraged the legal community to compete in a statewide food drive, donating food and money to food banks.
"Georgia Legal Food Frenzy" asks private attorneys, law firms and public interest and government law offices to give food to Georgia's seven regional food banks, which provided 90 million pounds of food to needy people last year.
The initiative is modeled after a similar program started five years ago in Virginia. Lawyers there donated more than 600,000 pounds of food during the first year of competition and more than 2.5 million pounds in last year's competition.
State Attorney General Sam Olens said he wants Georgia's legal community to top the 600,000 pounds of food collected during the first year of Virginia's competition.
He noted that almost 60 percent of Georgia's public school children are eligible for either a free or discounted lunch each day and that food banks are often used to meet demand. "We have an opportunity to do something that's much needed for our children," he said.
The competition, which kicks off on April 23 and ends May 4, was announced during a news conference at the state Capitol on Food Bank Day. Small, medium and large firms that donate the most food will be awarded the Attorney General's Cup.
Stephanie Kirijan, president of the State Bar of Georgia's Young Lawyers Division, noted that 1.6 million Georgians are in need of food assistance. "This will help provide critical needs," she said. "It's as simple as picking up extra items while shopping."
"I'm so thankful," said Danah Craft, executive director of the Georgia Food Bank Association. "Our consistently high unemployment is bringing new faces to us. ... This will bring new resources into the emergency food system at a time when they are needed most."
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