When Golden Harvest Food Bank announced earlier this year it would organize a local competition among Augusta area law practices as part of the 2013 Georgia Legal Food Frenzy, the attorneys and staff of Fulcher Hagler LLP were eager to respond. The Fulcher Firm rose to the challenge, donating 222 pounds of food and raising $5,530 in monetary donations by the end of the two-week food drive to win the large firm division of the Augusta area competition.
The Firm’s combined donations represented the equivalent of 22,342 pounds of food — nearly 500 pounds per employee — which will go toward Golden Harvest’s Backpack Program for children at risk of hunger. Golden Harvest is able to provide four pounds of food for every dollar donated.
“The Fulcher Firm was proud to do its part to support the Georgia Legal Food Frenzy and Golden Harvest Food Bank,” said Fulcher Hagler partner Sonja Tate. “We certainly enjoy the friendly competition, but more importantly, we see this as a great opportunity to give back in a way that directly helps the Augusta community. We thought we could do more this year, so I’m thankful to all our attorneys and staff who participated.”
The Firm more than doubled its donation equivalent from 2012 to lead all large law practices in the area. All Augusta law offices combined to collect a total of 852 pounds of food and $15,184.43, an equivalent 61,590 pounds of food.
The statewide Legal Food Frenzy, competition held April 22 to May 3, asked Georgia lawyers to compete outside the courtroom to help raise food and funds for regional food banks. Golden Harvest organized the local competition as a way to spark competition among Augusta practices.
Georgia Attorney General Sam Olens and the Young Lawyers Division of the State Bar of Georgia launched the Georgia Legal Food Frenzy last year as a way to give the state’s food banks an extra boost needed to meet the spike in demand during the summer months. During the summer months, the demand for food increases because children who depend on free or reduced school lunches are at home. Nearly 60 percent of Georgia’s public school students are eligible for either a free or reduced lunch each day.
Statewide, the Georgia legal community raised the equivalent of 842,317 pounds of food this year, a 38 percent increase from 2012. A total of 249 law firms and legal organizations representing 14,000 employees in 47 cities competed.