A communitywide coalition of churches, charities and businesses has come together to serve up 1,000 pounds of turkey and 500 pounds of ham and 166 pumpkin pies to carry on the Thanksgiving dinner started by Judy and Doug Wise in 1982.

With the economic downturn, preserving this treasured Thanksgiving tradition took on even greater importance.

Instead of Sykes' Restaurant, this year's dinner takes place at the former armory next to Peterson School off Meridian Road. The building now houses the administrative offices of Samaritan House.

Chris Krager, Samaritan House executive director, said the group chose the site because it was near the restaurant at the old Sykes' Grocery & Market where many local seniors and others have had their Thanksgiving meals for more than 25 years.

"We're the closest facility with a multipurpose room big enough to do it," Krager said.

Samaritan House moved its administrative offices into the armory two years ago, freeing up room for 11 more beds at its shelter that operates at a separate location.

The armory came with a full commercial kitchen, which makes the massive dinner preparation possible.

Barbara Fenchak, who heads up the food effort, said volunteers will serve dinner from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day. They expect to feed about 1,200 people including 400 to 450 home-delivered meals.

Along with ham, the menu includes turkey, dressing, potatoes, yams, rolls, cranberry sauce, olives, pies, coffee, orange juice and a special treat.

"The gravy will be made from scratch," she said.

Fenchak, an adviser to Feeding the Flathead, and John Krager, co-director of Feeding the Flathead (and Chris Krager's brother), said the group settled on 1,200 meals by considering last year's turnout and factoring in increased demand from the recession.

Fenchak and John Krager said local soup kitchens have seen numbers increase between 10 and 20 percent with many more young people and families attending due to local job losses or cutbacks in work hours.

The free Thanksgiving meal attracts a mix of seniors, low-income families and people who just enjoy sharing Thanksgiving with others in the community.

"Anyone can come," John Krager said.

People with mobility problems may have meals delivered to their homes by calling 257-4357.

To keep the process rolling, Ron Trippet of Trippet's Quality Printing and John Krager organize weekly meetings each Tuesday at the Samaritan House building with representatives of the Salvation Army, several churches and shelters.

Members have fanned out across the community, rounding up donations of money, food, tables, chairs, paper goods and volunteers. People interesting in volunteering should call Naomi Davidson at 752-7337.

People are needed to help set up, clean up and provide transportation in addition to meal preparation or serving. Along with Thanksgiving Day, volunteer assistance is required on Tuesday and Wednesday that week for set-up and food preparation.

People who would like to help support the community dinner with a donation should make a check out to Harvest Ministries, P.O. Box 1985, Whitefish, MT 59937-1985.

Reporter Candace Chase may be reached at 758-4436 or by e-mail at cchase@dailyinterlake.com