Virginia Lawyers Weekly

The first legal food frenzies in Hampton Roads in the early 1990s were scheduled at the end of March because that had been a slow time during the year for contributions to food banks.

That’s still true and with the slumping economy, “Food banks throughout the commonwealth are currently experiencing an historic surge in demand for assistance,” says Leslie Van Horn, executive director of the Federation of Virginia Food Banks.

Van Horn, Attorney General Bill Mims and the Young Lawyers Division of the Virginia Bar Association are coordinating the third annual statewide Legal Food Frenzy from March 2 to April 10 in an effort to raise 1.5 million pounds of food to respond to that surge.

The first statewide Food Frenzy raised 679,000 pounds of food, and last year’s project almost doubled that effort to more than 1.3 million pounds.

Last year, 181 law firms participated in the competition for the Attorney General’s Cup, which was presented by former AG Bob McDonnell the first two years. His successor, Bill Mims, is an enthusiastic supporter of the program and will present the cup this year.

“In this economy, the role of the food banks has never been more crucial,” he said. “This is a great way for the legal community to give back, and this competition has become a tradition in the Virginia legal community.”

The cup goes to the law firm that produces the highest average amount of food per lawyer and staff member, but other awards are presented based on firm size. Schettine & Nguyen PLC, a three-lawyer firm in Richmond, won last year with an average of 4,200 pounds of food per person.

Law firms that want to participate in the competition can register online at the project’s Web site, www.legalfoodfren- zy.com.
The expansion of the Legal Food Frenzy from Hampton Roads to statewide may continue to other states.

Attorneys general in North Carolina, Indiana, New Jersey, Florida and Nebraska are thinking about starting it in their states.

According to Greg Zoeller, Indiana’s AG, “With the success of Virginia’s first-in-the-nation statewide Legal Food Frenzy, we look to similarly partner with food banks to combat hunger. I hope our efforts in Indiana help take Virginia’s successful Legal Food Frenzy to the next level nationally.”

North Carolina AG Roy Cooper said, “I’m pleased to work with North Carolina food banks and my state’s legal community to create a statewide food drive modeled after the successful Legal Food Frenzy in Virginia.”

Van Horn said food banks have seen three faces of hunger – the working poor, children and senior citizens. “But now there is a fourth face of hunger and one everyone knows – your neighbor, or a co-worker’s spouse, who has been laid off or their company has closed and they are unable to find a job,” she said.

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