By Howard Greninger
TERRE HAUTE — Lawyers normally go head to head against each other in a courtroom, but Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller is challenging them to compete to collect food or money for the state’s nine regional food banks.
“The challenges in today’s economy really put us in a position where we have a much greater demand for services of the food banks than we have a supply. Like every economic problem, we need to step up the supply,” Zoeller said during a visit Friday to the Terre Haute Catholic Charities Food Bank, 1356 Locust St.
Zoeller announced a competition among all lawyers in the state, asking each lawyer and law firm to “step up and compete. Lawyers are always very competitive as a profession, but we will put aside our tradition of arguing with each other for two weeks in March,” Zoeller said.
The competition is named March Against Hunger, to take place March 16-31.
The competition is in three divisions: large, with 25 plus lawyers; small, with two to 24 lawyers; and sole proprietor, which is one lawyer.
As a reward, Zoeller has established the “Attorney General’s Cup” award, with one given in each division.
It’s an idea Zoeller said he got from the state of Virginia, where that state’s attorney general staged a similar contest last year that collected 1.3 million pounds of food.
“As attorneys, we are under an oath to serve our clients. And … as the attorney general who serves the entire state, I hope to challenge everyone in my profession to dig a little deeper and serve in ways that we may not have served previously,” Zoeller said.
The Indiana State Bar Association and the statewide network of food banks called Feeding Indiana’s Hungry are participating in the March Against Hunger.
Jeff Lind, a Terre Haute attorney and vice president of the Indiana State Bar Association, said collecting donations during the holidays is a much easier task than during the month of March. “I encourage all attorneys and law firms in this community to join in this effort, not because of the competition, but it is the right thing to do. Food and money raised locally, will stay locally, and that is true all across the state,” Lind said.
John C. Etling, president of Feeding Indiana’s Hungry and executive director of Terre Haute Catholic Charities, said Indiana’s nine food banks serve 28.6 percent of the state’s population, or more than 1.7 million people annually, with half of those children and seniors who are most in need.
“This is really tough times right now. We all know what the economic forecast is, but I think as Hoosiers, as Americans, we have a tradition and a legacy of reaching out and helping each other,” Etling said. “This is truly a wonderful expression of that heritage that we all carry forward with us.”
“These efforts to further the cause to help those that are struggling is a beautiful way of calling attention to the need and also effecting change,” Etling said.
Catholic Charities Food Bank serves Vigo, Vermillion, Clay, Parke, Sullivan, Knox and Greene counties. Vigo County had 167 lawyers as of March 3, 2008, while there were 121 lawyers total in the other six counties, according to the Indiana Clerk of the Supreme Court office.
Lawyers and law firms can participate by enrolling at the Indiana Attorney General’s Web site at www.atg.in.gov or calling (317) 232-6334.
Howard Greninger can be reached at (812) 231-4204 or howard.greninger@tribstar.com
