July 11, 2022

Munger Tolles Named Top Food From The Bar Fundraiser in Los Angeles and San Francisco

Munger, Tolles & Olson was named the top fundraiser for the annual Food from the Bar campaigns in Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Food from the Bar is an annual month-long fundraising and volunteering campaign to benefit Feeding America food banks. It is structured as a friendly competition amongst law firms, law schools and legal services organizations to see who can raise the most money and volunteer the most hours in an effort to help feed local, food insecure children, seniors and families.

The firm’s attorneys, staff and Food from the Bar co-chairs Kathleen McDowell, Jessica Laird and Erica Tooch (Los Angeles); and Rachel Schiff (San Francisco); and Sarah Weiner and Leo Mangat (Washington, D.C.) came together to organize a range of office events including Munger’s Got Talent (a virtual talent show that included everything from salsa dancing to opera singing); The Munger Games (the firm’s annual trivia contest);  a community cook book; associate and partner donation challenges; auctions; a bake sale; a poetry contest; Jeans Days and raffles. 

Attorneys and staff also participated in volunteer events at local food banks, where they helped sort, weigh and package produce for distribution. 

For the fifth consecutive year, Munger Tolles’ Los Angeles office received the Overall Award for accumulating the most points from monetary donations and volunteer hours during the campaign, and also received the Finish Line award for raising the most money at the end of the campaign. In total, the Los Angeles 2022 Food from the Bar campaign raised $583,000 for the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank, which equates to more than 2.3 million meals for those in need.

The San Francisco office was named this year’s Top Fundraiser in the San Francisco Food from the Bar campaign, raising one fifth of the campaign’s overall $445,815 donation total. This is the sixth time the office has received the top fundraising award.

Additionally, the Washington, D.C. office, alongside other law firms and legal associations, helped raise a total of $585,058 in donations, making it the top Food from the Bar campaign nationally for the second year running. 

As noted by partner Kathleen McDowell, “Food from the Bar is a deeply impactful annual campaign that unites legal professionals across the country in combating child hunger. It was heartening to see how many law firms and legal offices in so many states and cities came together to support local Feeding America Food Banks and their food insecure neighbors.”