North Carolina Bar Association
Young Lawyer’s Division
NC Legal Feeding Frenzy Competition Rules 2026
Each year, the North Carolina Bar Association Young Lawyers Division, in conjunction with the Office of the Attorney General, hosts the NC Legal Feeding Frenzy (LFF), a friendly competition among all North Carolina current and aspiring legal professionals to benefit North Carolina’s Feeding the Carolinas (FTC) food banks.
Each firm, organization, and/or school registers a team, and each team competes to collect the most food and funds possible. At the start of the competition, each team will designate an FTC food bank to which their food and funds will be donated.
At the end of the month-long competition, the North Carolina Attorney General will recognize eight (8) winners – one for each of the seven divisions and one highly coveted Attorney General’s Cup.
Winners from the following divisions will be determined based on the team that raises the most food and funds in their respective division:
- Sole Proprietor (1-5 employees)
- Small Firm (6-45 employees)
- Medium Firm (46-75 employees)
- Large Firm (76+ employees)
- Law School
- Public Interest/Government
- Corporate/In-House Counsel
The Attorney General’s Cup will be awarded to the team with the highest average individual donation, calculated by the team’s total donations divided by the team’s total number of donors.
Contest dates:
The contest will run from March 1 – March 31, 2026. Any food or funds submitted before March 1st or after March 31st will not be counted towards the team’s overall total for purposes of the competition.
Determining Team Size:
Law Firm Divisions
When counting the number of employees, each person, including each non-attorney, working at the firm should be included. Law firms with multiple office locations will compete as a single entity for awards; however, each office may register separately. For example, Law Firm A may register separate teams for Law Firm A-Raleigh (50 employees) and Law Firm A-Charlotte (30 employees). Law Firm A-Raleigh and Law A-Charlotte would register under the Large Firm category because they have 76+ employees TOTAL. If ONLY Law Firm A-Raleigh (50 employees) registers for the LFF, then Law Firm A-Raleigh would register under the Medium Firm category. A single office location should not register multiple teams.
Law School Division
All North Carolina law schools shall compete in a single category, regardless of size.
Public Interest/Government Division
The Public Interest/Government Division shall include all public interest law firms and organizations, government agencies, non-profit organizations, courts, the Public Defender’s and District Attorney’s Office, and the Attorney General’s Office.
Corporate/In-House Division
Corporate and in-house legal departments shall compete in a single category, regardless of the size of the organization or legal department. When submitting your Team Application, simply designate how many employees are in your legal department.
Bonus Pounds:
Registration: Opens February 17, 2026 at the team application page.
Early Bird: Teams that register between February 17 – February 24 will receive 1000 bonus pounds.
Regular: Teams the register between February 25 – February 28 will receive 500 bonus pounds.
Kick-Off Event
The NCBA YLD LFF committee, with the help of the Attorney General, Feeding the Carolinas, and the NCBA, will host in-person volunteer kick-off events at local food banks in Raleigh and Winston-Salem. This is an exciting opportunity for teams across the State to come together to assist their local food banks by volunteering.
Please join us on February 20 or March 6 for an in-person kick-off event (more details below). If a member of your team participates in the kick-off event, your team will earn an additional 1000 pounds. When you register, please be sure to note if a member of your team will be joining us for the in-person kick-off event at the Raleigh or Winston-Salem food bank.
Feb 20 – Statewide Kickoff event at the Food Bank of Central & Eastern NC (Raleigh), 12:30-3 PM
March 6 – Kickoff event at the Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest NC (Winston-Salem), 1:30-4 PM
Volunteer Event
Teams that organize and participate in an on-site volunteer opportunity at any of the local FTC food banks between March 1 – 31 will be awarded 2,000 bonus pounds.
To learn more about volunteering at a food bank near you, visit: feedingthecarolinas.org/volunteer.
Social Media
Teams that share information about #NCLFF26 and/or food insecurity in North Carolina on social media (LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.) at least one time throughout the competition can receive 300 pounds. Please tag FTC and NCBA in your post. To receive credit for social media posts, please screenshot the post and email it to aptuttle05@gmail.com and marissabarbalato@gmail.com no later than 11:59 p.m. on March 31.
Miscellaneous Bonus Pounds
Be on the lookout throughout the competition for ways that your team might be able to earn even more bonus pounds.
Donations:
In order to best meet the needs of our neighbors and local food banks, we strongly encourage monetary, as opposed to physical, donations. That said, physical donations will not be turned away.
Total pounds of food donations are calculated from two sources: (1) physical food items and (2) monetary contributions.
- All physical food item donations will be weighed upon delivery to the local FTC food bank. The weight will be added to the team’s overall score, but will not be tracked online. When a physical donation is made, the In-Person Donation Form must be completed and submitted to an FTC food bank staff, along with the donation. In-Person Donation Forms are available at each of the local FTC food banks.
- For every dollar contributed, a team will receive credit for four pounds of food. Monetary donations may be made by cash or check (delivered directly to the local FTC food bank) or online through the LFF website. All checks should be made out to Feeding the Carolinas.
Physical Donations
Teams are responsible for delivering all physical donations to the local FTC food bank no later than March 31, 2026. We recommend arranging your drop-off with the local FTC food bank before arrival. All donations must reference both the team’s name and “NC Legal Feeding Frenzy” to ensure proper credit. The In-Person Donation Form must be completed and submitted with each donation drop-off and emailed to aptuttle05@gmail.com and marissabarbalato@gmail.com. If your team wishes to mail any monetary donations, they must be postmarked no later than March 31, 2026.
The following types of items will not be counted as part of a team’s total pounds of food: candy, alcohol, perishables. Please check with the Food Bank for priority needs they may have.
Please do not contribute food items in glass containers as they have a high risk of breakage. Please do not open items that are already packed in cases, cartons, or boxes.
Online Donations
For online donations, follow these simple steps:
Step 1. Go to www.nclegalfeedingfrenzy.com
Step 2. Click “Donate”
Step 3. Enter your gift amount and your information. In the “Additional Information” area of the donation page, designate the law firm and/or food bank you would like to credit. You must make that designation in order for your online donation to be counted as part of the competition. If your designee has multiple offices (i.e., Wilmington and Raleigh offices), be sure to designate which office you would like to credit.
