Thanksgiving dinner city by city

There are numerous reasons to seek a place outside the home to go this Thanksgiving - like living in an empty nest or the mere desire for family outside of family. Thankfully, local communities are willing to give.

From as early as 11 a.m. until as late as 2 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 22, venues across Henry County offer locals a place to eat and give thanks.

MT. PLEASANT

For about the last half-decade, the Mt. Pleasant Community Thanksgiving Meal has been organized by sisters Lisa Oetken and Tina Hill.

From 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., food will be served at the Methodist church, 309 N. Main St., Mt. Pleasant and delivered to the homes of those who can't make it out. As late as the day of, individuals can call Oetken - (319) - 931-9073 - or Hill - (319)-931-4364 - to have a meal delivered to a residence.

'We have great volunteers who bring out food,” Oetken said. 'And we usually drop off some at the police department and sheriff department.”

WINFIELD

Over in Winfield, Alex Culver is coordinating the Lions Club Thanksgiving dinner, marking the 10th year the club has held the event. Food will be served 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. Thanksgiving Day in the basement of the Presbyterian Church, 302 S Locust St.

'Last year we had about 120 people turn out,” Culver said. 'We're hoping to see the same this year.”

The dinner is made possible with funds from Lions Club members and donations from the Methodist church. The approximately 20 volunteers are starting setup Wednesday night for the traditional Thanksgiving meal the next day.

NEW LONDON

New London's Annie Powell is spear heading her community's dinner held at the Filling Station, 304 E. Main. Those finding it difficult to leave home will find they can have their meal delivered to them if they schedule before Wednesday.

Food and funds come from the New London Christian Church and local individuals. After the community is so eager to give to them, Powell and her team are more than ready to give back.

'If we have money left over we like to anonymously donate it to a local cause,” Powell said. 'We put ears out there and are prayerful about it.”

Serving begins at 11:30 a.m. and Powell went on to say they don't turn away volunteers or hungry mouths and welcome anyone in the community to eat with them.

WAYLAND

Over in Wayland, area churches will come together with the help of local businesses and community members, to host their dinner in the WACO High School cafeteria.

Coordinating the event is Greg Stacey who initiated the tradition.

'I started it 15 years ago,” Stacey said. 'There's a lot of people who don't have anywhere to go and anyone to be with and [when we first started] there were other places that had dinners but none of them on Thanksgiving Day.”

In its first year the event pulled roughly 100 people. Since then, they've begun expecting numbers closer to 300.

The dozens volunteering their cooking aim to make the meal more accessible to everyone without sacrificing any of the flavor. For the first time, nearly everything will be made gluten-free, except 'the stuffing, the rolls … and a lot of the desserts.”

Doors open at 10:30 a.m. and serving runs from 11 a.m. - 1 p.m., though Stacey said they'll 'keep on serving until the lines are gone.”