There was not a wide selection on the menu at Applebee’s in Salina Thursday, but there were no complaints. The only thing on the menu was turkey, and all the trimmings, at the Salina Salvation Army Community Thanksgiving Dinner.

Debbie Andrews of Salina has coordinated the event for the last fifteen years. She tells KSAL News that an event like this wouldn’t be possible without a lot of volunteer help. She credits Applebees, the Salina Country Club, and the GL Huyett company of Minneapolis all for making the event possible.

This year was a little bittersweet for Andrews. For the first time her daughter was not among the over 100 volunteers at the event. She was in grade school when they first started volunteering. Now she is a nurse, and was working a shift at Salina Regional Health Center. Andrews said that she would make sure her daughter got a meal alter, though.

Along with preparing enough food to feed 1,000 people at the restaurant, volunteers also delivered another 150 meals.

People begin lining up outside at around 10:00 in the morning, a full two hours before the doors were scheduled to open. The volunteers inside, and the food, were ready to go so they opened the doors about 15 minutes early.

As the restaurant began to quickly fill with hungry people, it also filled with laughter and smiles.