Spending time with family on the holidays is a long standing tradition in most families. For Christ’s Table, around 250 of the organization’s “family members” are anticipated to sit around many table and enjoy a hot Thanksgiving meal Thursday.

“We’re so much more than nutrition for the belly, we’re nutrition for the soul,” Keely Warden, the Executive Director of Christ’s Table, said. “That’s just as important as being here with a hot meal tomorrow, just being here to hug those that we love and just wish them a happy Thanksgiving and let them know that there’s always some place to be, and they’re loved and they’re wanted.”

A traditional Thanksgiving meal including turkey, rolls, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes and gravy and homemade pies will be served to nearly 450 people in the community.

Warden said, last year, Christ’s Table served a meal to 259 people inside the facility with another 180 meals being distributed to homebound residents in the community.

This year, Christ’s table is prepared for at least as many meals as last year with 60 turkeys, 192 boxes of stuffing, 100 pounds of peeled potatoes, 12 pans of green bean casserole, 50 pumpkin pies and additional dutch apple pies.

“We try to make our meal tomorrow just as homemade as the one you’ll have with your family,” Warden said.

Whether a food donation like the turkeys courtesy of the National Turkey Federation, or a homemade pie courtesy of Century National Bank and the John Glenn Band, the community comes together to create a special meal. A meal that Warden said, “takes a village” to make.

This month has been exceptionally busy at Christ’s Table, Warden said, with between 200 and 285 meals being served daily. She said she’s expecting a large crowd Thursday, on top of the nearly 200 meals being delivered to homebound residents this year.

About 60 to 70 volunteers will help with the Thanksgiving meal on Thursday. With three shifts of volunteers, about 35 to 40 people volunteer work inside while the other 25 to 30 men from the Jaycees divide and conquer the homebound meal deliveries.

Unfortunately, Warden said she had to turn volunteers away this year as she received hundreds of calls from people wanting to help. While many volunteers are needed, Warden wants everyone that volunteers to have a meaningful experience and not feel unused in the process.

“It’s bittersweet because you don’t want to turn people away,” Warden said. “So many people called in. I was just so pleasantly surprised.”

So many donations were made by individuals, businesses and organizations from the community that make the Thanksgiving meal possible. Warden said that even down to the monetary donations, everything is extremely appreciated.

An average meal at Christ’s Table costs $0.25. The volunteers make a meal they can out of any donations they have. On Thanksgiving, it’s a different story.

“Most of the time we serve here, we’re taking what we have and making what we can,” Warden said. “That’s why Thanksgiving is the day that, OK we have to go spend a little money. It’s so great that those in the community support and we’re able to do that.”

While the volunteers at Christ’s Table want to serve and shower the people they see everyday with love, Warden said it’s better to not see the people they interact with on a daily basis.

“A good thing too is, some of the people we serve everyday, we won’t see them and that warms your heart because you know they are with family that day,” she said.

Christ’s table will be open and serving from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Warden said the organization alters its hours to allow for volunteers to be home with their families during the holiday.