Lawyers and law firms participating in this year’s March Against Hunger raised the equivalent of 135 tons of food, a record amount for the competition that’s in its fourth year.

Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller teamed up with the Indiana State Bar Association and Feeding Indiana’s Hungry to create the friendly competition. Fifty-one legal groups from Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio competed to raise the largest amounts of monetary and food donations. Donations totaled 11,229 pounds of food and $51,172.

The competitors are separated into five divisions, with winners in each division receiving the Attorney General’s Cup. This year, Barnes & Thornburg won in the large division by collecting 946 pounds of food and more than $16,000.

Burke Costanza & Carberry in Merrillville won in the Medium Division by collecting 758 pounds of food and more than $4,000. Delk McNally in Muncie won the Small Division by collecting $800. Steven Douglas Law Office in Bloomington won in the Sole Proprietor Division by collecting 2,590 pounds of food and more than $1,100. The Vanderburgh County Prosecutor’s Office won in the Public/Nonprofit Division, collecting 1,211 pounds of food and more than $2,200.

“Lawyers are known for being competitive, and they have risen to the challenge of meeting the increased needs of the people of our state and also have helped elevate the public awareness of hunger in Indiana," Zoeller said.

Last year, 50 legal entities from Indiana and Kentucky collected more than 6,000 pounds of food and $27,574, which combined is the equivalent of 72 tons of food assistance.