PRESS RELEASE: Virginia Lawyers Help Feed Thousands Through 2025 Legal Food Frenzy

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Since 2007, the annual competition has raised over 26 million pounds of food to combat hunger.

RICHMOND, Va. – Each spring, as courtrooms fill and law offices bustle with new cases, Virginia’s legal community also rallies around a different kind of cause: hunger relief. Through the 2025 Legal Food Frenzy, attorneys, firms, legal departments, law schools, and public agencies across the Commonwealth once again competed to raise critical food and funds for Virginia’s seven food banks.

The Legal Food Frenzy is a long-running partnership between the Office of the Attorney General, the Young Lawyers Division of the Virginia Bar Association, and the Federation of Virginia Food Banks. Since its inception as a statewide event in 2007, the campaign has raised the equivalent of over 26 million pounds of food.

In just two weeks this April, 115 participating organizations raised more than $350,000 and donated over 9,000 pounds of food at a time when demand at food banks and the cost of groceries remains high. According to Feeding America’s latest data, approximately 1,000,000 or 1 in 8 Virginians, many of them children and seniors, are facing hunger each year.

“We were pleased to see an increase in participation during such a time of need and are thrilled that each of Virginia’s seven food banks received support from the legal organizations in their respective communities,” said Liz Olcott with the Young Lawyers Division of the Virginia Bar Association.

This year’s winners will gather tonight at the Attorney General’s office to celebrate their achievements: the Attorney General’s Cup was awarded to The Law Office of James Steele, supporting Feeding Southwest Virginia. The Law School Cup went to Appalachian School of Law, also supporting Feeding Southwest Virginia, marking another strong showing for the region which also has the highest rates of food insecurity in the Commonwealth.

“We are deeply grateful for the continued support of Virginia’s legal community,” said Eddie Oliver, Executive Director of the Federation of Virginia Food Banks. “Their generosity strengthens our ability to innovate food distribution and expand access to nutritious food for the Virginians we serve, bringing us closer to a Commonwealth rooted in nutrition security and community resilience.”

2025 Legal Food Frenzy Winners

Statewide Winners

• • Attorney General’s Cup: The Law Office of James Steele (Feeding Southwest Virginia)
  • Law School Cup: Appalachian School of Law (Feeding Southwest Virginia)

Regional Winners

• • Blue Ridge Area Food Bank
    • • McGuireWoods, Charlottesville (Total Giving & Per Capita)
  • Capital Area Food Bank
    • • Prince William County Attorney’s Office (Total Giving & Per Capita)
  • Feed More
    • • McGuireWoods, Richmond (Total Giving)
      • Lantz & Robins PC (Per Capita)
  • Feeding Southwest Virginia
    • • Gentry Locke, Roanoke & Lynchburg (Total Giving)
      • Scott County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office (Per Capita)
  • Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia and the Eastern Shore
    • • Kaufman & Canoles, Norfolk (Total Giving)
      • Gentry Locke, Norfolk (Per Capita)
  • Fredericksburg Regional Food Bank
    • • Allen & Allen, Fredericksburg (Total Giving)
      • Hirschler, Fredericksburg (Per Capita)
  • Virginia Peninsula Foodbank
    • • Kaufman & Canoles, Newport News (Total Giving & Per Capita)

Learn more at www.legalfoodfrenzy.com and www.vafoodbanks.org/legal-food-frenzy-leaderboard.