About 50 volunteers with the Emmanuel Episcopal Church prepared and served 887 free Thanksgiving dinners this year, marking it their highest number of meals served to date. (Submitted photo)

NORWICH — Volunteers with the Emmanuel Episcopal Church located at 37 Main Street in Norwich, served 887 free Thanksgiving dinners this year, making it their highest number of meals served to date.

About 50 volunteers came together to prepare and deliver Thanksgiving meals starting at 10 a.m. and continuing through the day. Meals were enjoyed by many gathering at tables while others placed orders for pick up.

Co-organizer Klockowski said the dinners have been a major benefit to the community in the past years and he had expected to assemble about 800 meals this year and was very delighted when the number exceeded that.

Klockowski said there were 767 Thanksgiving meals given out last year, so this was their all time highest number served and said they really enjoy seeing all of the people that come in and have great conversations with those that return year in and year out.

He said the dinner consisted of turkey, mashed potatoes, peas, stuffing, gravy, and cranberry sauce.

Klockowski said, “The church began serving Thanksgiving dinners about 15 years ago, thanks to my old friend Charlie McMullen, who is now deceased.”

He said McMullen started the Taste and See soup kitchen in Oxford over 20 years ago and then about 15 years later, moved the operation to the Emmanuel Church in Norwich, supplying Thanksgiving dinners to the underserved.

Klockowski said he has been running the dinners along with McMullens previous co-organizer Gary Brookins and said the Episcopal Soup Kitchen would not survive without the backing of the Episcopal Church, Father Steve White, and all of the hard work and planning by Gary Brookins and numerous volunteers.

The church also has a separate service in the Food Pantry. The food pantry is operational every week on specific days and hours. Call the office at 607-334-8801 with any questions.