It may have been wet and dreary outside Thursday morning but that did not stop the volunteers of God’s Bread Basket, a nonprofit food-aid ministry, from wearing a smile while they served the Hogansville community.

“We will be celebrating our 10th anniversary all month,” said director Terry Rainwater. “Other than providing for those who are food deprived and helping with groceries, we also supplement grocery income. It has been exciting to start out only serving around 35 families when we started to now serving over 250 a month.”

Since June of 2009, God’s Bread Basket has been serving the community in Hogansville.

Supported by multiple churches of all denominations in Hogansville and LaGrange, volunteers spend every Thursday morning from 9 a.m. to noon packing boxes of food for the families that qualify for assistance.

“We are extremely excited to celebrate 10 years of service and are looking forward to 10 more years,” Rainwater said. “We are the only food bank in this area that packs food based on family size. We give out around 8,000 to 10,000 pounds of food each month. It is all volunteer based, and every donation we receive goes to purchasing food.”

The nonprofit has regular monthly contributors along with others that contribute on an irregular schedule. Rainwater said that $10 can purchase 52-pounds of food.

“One way we are celebrating is giving out refreshments and sweets to clients as they wait for their food,” Rainwater said. “Additionally, we are hosting a reception for our financial contributors on June 17 to thank them for all the help they have given.”

To qualify for assistance, you must live in the Hogansville zip code and provide multiple forms of verification. God’s Bread Basket is located at 407 Church Street in Hogansville.