photo by: Chad Lawhorn/Journal-World

Volunteers gather at Corpus Christi Catholic Church in Lawrence on Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2022, to prepare food for Thursday's LINK Thanksgiving Dinner, which will be held in downtown Lawrence from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. at First Christian Church, 1000 Kentucky St..

On Wednesday afternoon, volunteers were preparing pies, potatoes and more and packing to-go boxes for the LINK Thanksgiving Dinner, which will be held at 1 p.m. Thursday in the basement of First Christian Church, 1000 Kentucky St. The annual community meal is free and open to the public.

photo by: Chad Lawhorn/Journal-World

Greyson Heiman, 16, prepares a pan of mashed potatoes on Nov. 23, 2022, at Corpus Christi Catholic Church. Heiman was one of dozens of volunteers helping prepare for Thursday’s L.I.N.K. Thanksgiving Dinner that will take place from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. at First Christian Church at 10th and Kentucky streets in downtown Lawrence.

photo by: Chad Lawhorn/Journal-World

Coleslaw accumulates on trays as volunteers do day-before prep work for the L.I.N.K. Thanksgiving Dinner.

photo by: Chad Lawhorn/Journal-World

Jennifer Perry, Chip Blaser, Jennifer Marsh, and Karen Blaser fill cups with coleslaw for Thursday’s L.I.N.K. Thanksgiving Dinner. Crews gathered on Wednesday in west Lawrence to package food for the hundred of to-go orders that L.I.N.K. plans to deliver on Thursday.

photo by: Chad Lawhorn/Journal-World

To-go boxes are prepared for transport for the L.I.N.K. Thanksgiving Dinner, which will be held on Thursday, Nov. 24, 2022, in the fellowship hall of First Christian Church in downtown Lawrence. Amy Carlson, right, dishes out pie to fill the boxes. Organizers of the community meal said more than 730 people have signed up for to-go orders, the highest number in recent memory.

photo by: Chad Lawhorn/Journal-World phot

Pie will be on the menu for the L.I.N.K. Thanksgiving Dinner on Thursday, Nov. 24, 2022.

photo by: Chad Lawhorn/Journal-World

Pies await cutting on Nov. 23, 2022, as volunteers prepare food for the next day’s LINK Thanksgiving Dinner.