Volunteers Pete “General” Peterson, left, and Chris Anderson volunteer Thursday at the annual LINK Thanksgiving dinner.

And you think it’s rough cleaning up after yourself and your family following an afternoon spent grazing on turkey, potatoes, stuffing, green-bean casserole and pumpkin pie.

Chris Anderson’s got you beat, and he’s got the prune hands to prove it.

Anderson and a handful of fellow volunteers spent the better part of their Thanksgiving afternoon dumping plates, soaking silverware, rinsing trays and scrubbing pots and pans at the Lawrence Interdenominational Nutrition Kitchen’s traditional community dinner.

The overall program, in its 24th year, served 228 meals to homeless, low-income and others at 221 W. 10th St., plus delivered an additional 398 dinners in Lawrence, Baldwin City and Eudora.

Back in the kitchen, Anderson directed his high-pressure sprayer at tray after tray after tray, his smile’s gleam outshone only by the clean dishes once again ready for use by guests eating out front.

“This feels good,” said Anderson, a retired railroad conductor. “It makes me feel like I have value, and I’m giving back.”

Anderson wasn’t alone.

• Adrienne Paranjothi dumped food from trays and soaked silverware. “My favorite thing is seeing people leave with their bellies full, a smile on their face and they say, ‘Thank you,'” she said.

• Ed Grenyo loaded the dishwasher, sanitizing dishes and trays every five minutes. “It’s fun,” he said. “It’s a great gift to be able to share.”

• John Kiefer, owner of Kief’s Audio Video, dried them all off, stacking them for reuse. “Whatever’s necessary,” he said.

Cleaning up will be someone else’s duty today. Leftovers and fresh casseroles will be served from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. at LINK., coordinator Greg Moore said.