The Salvation Army is hosting its annual Thanksgiving dinner

Across Tri-States, people busy preparing Christmas meals and the Salvation Army are no different, since they have spent the day cooking to feed hundreds of people.

On Thursday, the Salvation Army hosted its Thanksgiving dinner at the Quincy Kroc Center.
The meal included a number of Thanksgiving dining options.

The Salvation Army wants everyone to have a meal on their plate for Thanksgiving, and their annual dinner on Thursday morning did just that.

And they are not alone – volunteers of all ages have come to serve a special dinner to the community.

"It makes me feel good and they feel good," said volunteer Leah Young.

Sheila Nokes was one of about 500 people who came forward to eat and said that this meal was more than food.

"It makes my heart so hot that there is someone you can trust and want to help, especially for the meal," said Nokes.

Joyce Waters is one of two people helping, as she lined up to help serve food and drink to those in need.

"This year, we will not have our Thanksgiving until Saturday and the Kansas girl has come and she said: let's do something for others this Thanksgiving," said Waters. "So we are here!"

The Salvation Army said that volunteers and donations are what allows them to give everyone a Thanksgiving holiday.

"We cooked 36 turkeys. I do not know how many cases of green beans or kilos of potatoes, "said Major Cheryl Miller of the Salvation Army. "But all of these things go together for this to happen, so we have an excellent crew who volunteered to do this preparation."

And for some, this meal makes the holidays even more special.

"I mean it's very exciting," Nokes said. "Words can not say. Words can not say. "

The Salvation Army is able to fund the annual Thanksgiving dinner thanks to donations received in the kettles of Christmas each year.

The Salvation Army plans to organize another dinner on Christmas Day.