Gail Long, president of the Southwest Georgia Board of Realtors, said it was hard to imagine somebody in Bainbridge cold or hungry.

So in an effort to give back to the community and bring joy to people they may never meet face to face, the board shopped and donated food to the Bainbridge Soup Kitchen.

After a carload of canned goods, dry food, fruits, vegetables and other foods filled up the soup kitchen’s pantry, another opportunity to help opened up.

“We started out with the groceries so they could put it in their pantry,” board program coordinator Bunny Brock said. “They needed some volunteers to help on a Thursday night, and we just jumped all over that.”

Eight members from the board arrived on a Thursday night to serve dinner plates to Bainbridge locals.

Started in Jan. 2013, the Bainbridge Soup Kitchen serves hot meals every Thursday from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Bainbridge Church of God at 205 Independent St. Ran by a host of hard-working volunteers, more than 500 plates are served a month, many of which are delivered to people’s homes who are disabled or elderly.

“I will definitely be going on Thursday nights to help,” Long said. “It opened up other agents eyes of what their church or what other people could do, too.”

Donations from the Board of Realtors also included gift cards and items for children, such as juice boxes.

“They get no government funding,” Brock said. “It was amazing, with different age groups. People were crying. It’s just emotional.”

Long said her goal as board president this year was to get her office, DeHildren Realty, and other offices around Southwest Georgia back involved in their communities and offering help where needed.