Darryl Groszer has had turkey on the brain since Halloween.

That's because preparing a Thanksgiving dinner for a community means waking up early Thanksgiving morning won't cut it.

Groszer has organized Thanksgiving dinner at the Arbutus United Methodist Church for the past 20 years and has watched as it has grown to 300 to 400 guests each year.

"There's been times it's been less than that," said Groszer, 61, a life-long Arbutus resident. "There's been times where we've been scratching to make sure we have enough food to feed the people."

By Nov. 16, Groszer said he and his volunteers have already cooked and preserved 30 turkeys.

The cooks had four or five more to go before Thanksgiving, he added.

"You can't order 300 pounds of turkey overnight," said Wayne Keehner, a volunteer and cook for the dinner for the past five years.

The five cooks will continue to cook through most of Thanksgiving in order to ready the feast, which includes mashed potatoes, gravy, corn, green beans, sauerkraut, cranberry sauce, pumpkin and cherry pies, rolls and drinks.

Keehner, a Violetville resident, said he and four other cooks will start preparing the food at the church at 6:30 a.m. and won't stop until 2:30 p.m. or so.

All told, the dinner costs about $2,500, Groszer said.

The church does not charge for the meal. It will have an offering basket where guests may make a donation, Keehner said.

"With any money we do get from free will, we start using that as seed money (for next year's dinner)," Keehner said.

The dinner, Groszer noted, mirrors traditional Thanksgiving dinners by paying attention to details, such as china plates and stainless steel flatware, instead of disposable items.

Groszer said he expects people from all walks of life to take advantage of this community-wide dinner.

"It started as a dinner for the less fortunate, but it has come full-circle to the people who find themselves alone for the holiday," Groszer said.

"With the economy the way it is, we have to factor that in also," Groszer said. "We may be having new people, new families join us just because (of that)."

No matter how many people come to the dinner, Groszer said he likely won't be short on manpower as he usually gets about 50 volunteers to help set up, prepare and serve the dinner and clean up.

"I'm really blessed with a good help staff and people who want to come back and help every year," Groszer said.

Three of the volunteers who come back annually are Keehner's wife of 21 years, Abbie, daughter, Amber, 15, and son Daniel, 13.

"They need to see what outreach means and see people helping others," Keehner said of why he has had his kids volunteer the past five years.

"They actually look forward to this," he said. "They would rather be there doing that than be home."

After celebrating Thanksgiving with what Keehner called his "church family," he and his immediate family have their own Thanksgiving the next day, he said.

The church event requires lots of hard work from everyone involved, from the volunteers to the organizer, but it's worth it, Groszer said.

"It's a big event just to put it on, but we love to do it," Groszer said. "That's why we continue to do it and hope to do it in the future."