A year after raising $880,248.08, the Georgia Legal Food Frenzy, the law industry's 12th annual statewide food drive set for April 17-28, is back. And this year, Georgians' need for food donations may be at an all-time high. "The demand in our area of the state is at pandemic levels because of the end of COVID-era programs," said Danah Craft, executive director of Feeding Georgia (formerly the Georgia Food Bank Association). "And with inflation, food and fuel prices are up. And school is about to end [for the summer, and] 60% of kids in public schools in Georgia are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. So the last day of school is not a happy day for a lot of those families. So this comes at the perfect time to help the food banks have the resources that they need for what they know is coming this summer." Craft spoke in an interview at the Frenzy's kickoff event Wednesday night at King & Spalding's office in Atlanta. The event raises funds for the state's nine food banks and is co-sponsored by Feeding Georgia, Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr's office and the State Bar of Georgia's Young Lawyers Division. In 2022, the Frenzy's fundraising total was $57,000 short of the previous year's record of $936,883. Like last year, the 2023 event's goal is to raise $1 million, which is equal to 4 million meals. "Over the past decade we have raised over $3.2 million to fight food insecurity. … That equals about 13 million meals," Carr said during a series of speeches by Frenzy co-sponsors and event hosts. "We've always had a good response." Like last year, he is issuing a billable-hour challenge, asking every lawyer in the state to donate the equivalent of one billable hour to help the Frenzy reach its $1 million goal. Carr implored the event's attendees to contact as many attorneys they know or work with to donate. "Think about what would happen in this state if every single lawyer would give one billable hour to their food banks. That's transformative," Carr said, later adding that 1 in 8 Georgians is food insecure. A total of 189 law firms were involved in the 2022 Frenzy. This year, like in previous ones, teams and individuals can register for the event not only beforehand but also up until the final day by visiting galegalfoodfrenzy.org. "We couldn't be more excited," Craft said. "Early registrations have been really strong. We had a great year last year. We know we can build on that momentum this year, especially with the attorney general's one-billable-hour challenge. I think it's absolutely critical that communities come together at this time to help the food banks and feed hungry neighbors." Leaders with the Young Lawyers Division's Frenzy committee are also thrilled it's returning. "It's very exciting. … It's just a really great time to get the legal community together to rally for a cause. I can't think of a better cause than this one," Caroline Scalf, the committee's co-chair, said in an interview. Morgan Lyndall, a committee director, added, "Every year we are growing a following with a group of firms that continue to make this a part of their culture. … So obviously it's exciting for those firms who compete annually. Additionally, it's exciting for our legal community to be able to impact hunger as we go into a season where the [dependence] on the food banks increases." Also at Wednesday's kickoff, the winner of the Law School Food Frenzy, which took place 13-24, was announced. The University of Georgia School of Law, which raised more than $23,000, took home the trophy.