Combating hunger

According to Feeding America, 34 million people in the US are food insecure. A recent report released by the Capital Area Food Bank (CAFB), an organization focused on combating hunger, found that 32 percent of people in the Washington, DC region – more than 1.2 million people – do not know from where their next meal is coming. Food banks play a critical role in addressing this crisis by providing food to those in need.

Over the last 30 years, DLA Piper has supported food banks around the world, providing them with pro bono legal support, financial donations, and volunteer time to pack food for distribution.

Representing food banks

The firm represents food banks across the country and serves as outside counsel for several, including New York’s City Harvest, Washington, DC’s Capital Area Food Bank, the North Texas Food Bank, the Greater Chicago Food Depository, and Feeding America, the largest hunger relief organization in the US. We also represent The Global FoodBanking Network, which we helped create more than 15 years ago through New Perimeter, the firm’s nonprofit global pro bono affiliate.

DLA Piper lawyers were critical in helping City Harvest in the sale of Plentiful, a mobile app that helps New Yorkers locate food pantries and reserve a pickup time. During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, as food supply and volunteer efforts were disrupted, we worked with Denver-based HelpKitchen to help numerous families.

Community service

In addition to the firm’s legal work, DLA Piper partners and employees volunteer to sort and pack food at food banks. Our Washington, DC office has volunteered at the Capital Area Food Bank numerous times, packing hundreds of boxes of food for more than a thousand families. In Northern California, we volunteered with Rise Against Hunger to pack more than USD10,000 worth of meals for Southeast Asian countries. In Austin, a group of nearly 100 DLA Piper lawyers volunteered at the Central Texas Food Bank to pack food for the local community.

Fundraising

Our people also generously support food banks through fundraising drives. Recently, the New York office raised funds to feed nearly 33,500 children. The Washington, DC office has a long history of leading the fundraising efforts for Food for the Bar, the legal community’s annual response to hunger.

“The Washington, DC office is proud to have supported CAFB for decades. We helped secure millions in federal appropriations for their current warehouse, which represented a huge step forward in their ability to serve our community,” said Office Managing Partner William Minor (Washington, DC). “We are grateful to all in the office who have contributed to the successes of CAFB, including board member Eric Eisenberg, outside counsel Shaked Hoter (Washington, DC), and our former Partner Carl Vacketta for establishing this great tradition more than 20 years ago.”

Policy and impact work

Our reach goes beyond representing food banks. Other work includes research and impact litigation aimed at securing access to emergency food assistance. We have also done policy work related to access to healthy food in under-resourced schools and daycare settings and conducted research for a nonprofit on access to healthy food for pregnant women in jails and prisons.
Our work to combat hunger is central to our pro bono mission, and we are grateful for everyone who has dedicated time to this cause.

Legal education

With our client Tyson Foods, we developed a webinar series for food banks on topics that impact their day-to-day operations like cyber security, employment issues, food safety, and contracts.

“It is truly a pleasure to team with Tyson Foods to provide education for food banks and organizations combating hunger around the country,” said Melissa Sampson (Washington, DC). “Food banks are essential to our communities, and it’s an honor to be able to help them navigate various legal topics so they can continue to focus on their missions.”

“Since The Global FoodBanking Network’s founding in 2006, DLA Piper has supported our organization in addressing hunger in more than 50 countries and played a pivotal role in improving food access for 32 million people facing food insecurity last year. Firms around the world and many partners have volunteered their time and services to support food banking organizations by serving on boards of directors, providing legal counsel, and offering knowledge and insights on a range of mission-critical issues. We are so grateful for DLA Piper’s longstanding partnership with The Global FoodBanking Network and food banks worldwide.”
– Lisa Moon, President and CEO, The Global FoodBanking Network