Martin County News Flash!

Amy Burns, Attorney in the Fort Pierce, office helped organize a “Legal Food Frenzy” in conjunction with the local food bank. Her efforts follow the Virginia fund raiser that has been super successful for over 17 years. Amy’s drive yielded 5 tons of food being donated by the legal community of Martin County for the underprivileged members of their area…..GREAT JOB AMY AND MANY THANKS TO ALL WHO DONATED!

Treasure Coast lawyers get into food fight to see who can raise the most

FORT PIERCE — What do you get when you pit lawyers against each other outside the courtroom?

It's not a moot point: You get Treasure Coast Food Frenzy, a 10-day competition to see which law firm could raise the largest amount of food and cash for the Treasure Coast Food Bank.

Just under 9,000 pounds of non-perishable food was collected during the drive that ended April 16.

"I'm thrilled that we were able to collect so much food. We have children right down the block who are hungry, not just in far away Asia or Africa," said attorney Maria Sperando, a partner in the Stuart law firm of Gary, Williams, Finney, Lewis, Watson & Sperando.

Her firm, with 110 employees, placed first among the large firms division.

They collected almost three tons — 5,733 pounds — "enough to feed a family of four three meals a day for close to 11 months," according to Food Bank Resource Development Director Debbi McCarthy.

Stuart law firm Fox, Wackeen, Dungey, Beard, Sobel, Bush & McCluskey won the small firms division.

McCarthy gave special commendations to Florida Rural Legal Services in Fort Pierce; Kramer, Sopko and Levenstein in Stuart; and Page, Mrachek, Fitzgerald and Rose in Stuart.

"I thought the food drive demonstrated a great collective effort of area law firms for a very worthy cause," said Kari Love, one of the food drive coordinators for the Gary firm.

Treasure Coast Food bank serves 28 nonprofit and faith-based hunger relief agencies in Martin County — distributing more than 300,000 pounds of food last year. A dozen food pantries serve an estimated 8,300 people every month. Soup kitchens, after school programs, and residential shelters provide another 34,000 meals and snacks each month from Jensen Beach to Hobe Sound and over to Indiantown, McCarthy said.

She said she hopes to conduct a similar Food Frenzy event next year.