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KEARNEY — The first year of the Kearney Area Concerned Citizens free Thanksgiving dinner, six to eight turkeys were cooked; 100 pounds of potatoes were peeled, diced and mashed; and about 135 to 140 people came to eat.

“We thought we had really done a good job,” said Gailen Kotrous, publicity chairman.

Twenty-five years later, the group is peeling, dicing and mashing 400 pounds of potatoes and cooking 44 turkeys to prepare for the free Thanksgiving meal at 11 a.m. Thursday at Knights of Columbus Hall at 1900 Central Ave.

“That’s how our monster was created,” Kotrous said with a laugh, noting last year, about 1,100 people were served.

The 44 turkeys will start cooking at 3 or 4 a.m. Thursday on six large barbecue grills. After they’re cooked, a crew will debone them.

Also on the menu are 250 pounds of sweet potatoes and ham, dressing and vegetables.

Kotrous said anyone who may be alone on Thanksgiving is invited to the meal.

“Come on down, let us be your family this year,” Kotrous said.

Meals also will be delivered to those who are homebound or who cannot get away to attend a Thanksgiving dinner.

All food for the dinner is donated by area businesses, but Kearney Area Concerned Citizens still buys some items. Kotrous said cash donations will be accepted to help defray the costs.

The public is asked to help provide desserts for the meal by delivering them to the Knights of Columbus hall starting on Wednesday.

Kotrous said any leftover food will be distributed those who need it through the Salvation Army.

New to this year’s dinner will be a drop-off site for items for military personnel.

“Anyone who is coming down or who would like to contribute items to troops overseas, we will put it in a box and ship it over to our military.”

Kotrous, who has a son in Afghanistan, hopes the boxes will arrive to the troops by Christmas.

Items for donation can be anything from white tube socks to toothpaste, foot powder, reading material, religious items, nonperishable food, razors, bars of soap, floss and hard candy.

Opportunities to volunteer include 8:30-9 a.m. Wednesday to help peel potatoes and to also help prepare the hall for the meal. Help also is needed on Thursday for the meal and for cleanup at 3 p.m. For more information on volunteer opportunities, call Tina Sheets at 234-1746.

Kotrous estimates about 300 volunteers work the dinner.

To have a meal delivered, call Kotrous starting on Wednesday at the Knights of Columbus Hall at 237-4255 or 237-hall.

e-mail to:

sarah.mulder@kearneyhub.com

Get a Free Dinner

Kearney Area Concerned Citizens will serve a free Thanksgiving dinner at 11 a.m. Thursday at the Knights of Columbus Hall at 1900 Central Ave.