Lora Stopple and her daughter, Paige, 11, handed out trays at the LINK Thanksgiving meal Thursday at First Christian Church of Lawrence, 1000 Kentucky St. Stopple and Paige were just two of the many volunteers who helped put on the traditional, family style Thanksgiving dinner that serves residents in need.

A lot of people eating Thanksgiving dinner at LINK might have preferred to be with their families for the holiday.

But for many, because of various life circumstances, that’s not their holiday reality. So they welcomed a hot turkey dinner with more than 150 other community members instead.

“I’m thankful for everybody out here,” said Andy Klebenstein Jr., explaining how hard the volunteers and organizers work to pull off the annual event. “Today’s going to be a lot of work to clean this place up.”

The annual midday Thanksgiving meal is served by volunteers in the Lawrence Interdenominational Nutrition Kitchen, or LINK, dining room in the basement of First Christian Church, 1000 Kentucky St.

It’s open to anyone, whether they can’t afford Thanksgiving dinner otherwise or just want to be somewhere celebrating with others.

On Thursday, there were 161 meals served, plus another 530 meals delivered to community members who weren’t able to come in person, LINK director Greg Moore said.

Dine-in guests enjoyed a meal of turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green beans, corn and a smorgasbord of pie. And not unlike a family setting, there was even football on TV.

Klebenstein, who is homeless, said he’s been coming to the LINK Thanksgiving meal off and on for more than a decade.

Nearby relatives probably would have picked him up for Thanksgiving dinner if he’d called, he said, but he didn’t. He wasn’t feeling well Thursday, his feet hurt, and sometimes getting together can be stressful.

Tom Ludwig said the LINK meals reminded him of holiday dinners at Keystone ski resort in Colorado, where he once worked prior to becoming homeless. Since it’s a busy time of year, he said, employees couldn’t get away to join family out of state, so the resort provided a meal for the whole group.

“This is such a great community service,” Ludwig said.

Sean Sanders, also homeless, said that growing up, Thanksgiving and Christmas were the biggest times of year for him because the whole family got together, cousins and all.

But his parents have since passed away, and he’s estranged from other relatives, who live across the country. He said the last time he spent Thanksgiving with family was six or eight years ago.

“I can’t be with my family today,” Sanders said. “I don’t see my family every day like a lot of people, and I can’t talk to them on the phone every day.”

Sanders enjoyed his first LINK Thanksgiving dinner with Mark Thompson, also homeless, and who also appreciated the meal.

“There’s a full spread here,” Thompson said, forking into a slice of pecan pie topped with a dollop of whipped cream. “It’s a real blessing.”