COEUR d'ALENE - When John and Mallory Malee began serving free Thanksgiving meals at Fedora Pub and Grille three years ago, they had two things in mind - providing a quality meal to residents in need and giving their employees and other residents a chance to volunteer their time during the holidays.

On Thursday, Fedora was filled to capacity with hungry residents from all walks of life. Single mothers and their children, people new to the area, those too busy caring for sick relatives to cook and even someone whose oven broke shortly before turkey day were all warmly received by hundreds of volunteers.

"It's just an old-fashioned community dinner," Mallory said. "We didn't want to skimp on the quality and make it like a food kitchen. People want to come somewhere were they are really being served by people who want to serve them and that's what we have here."

According to Mallory, preparations for the Thanksgiving meal begin three months in advance and are just as dependent on community involvement as the actual event. Local groups such as the Kiwanis and Rotary Club give grant money for the event. Other groups help take in food donations and Elder Help handles the financial aspect of things.

Then there are the volunteers.

"We end up having more volunteers than we know what to do with them," Mallory said. "It's the most amazing thing ever. The funny thing is, it seems like there are more people who want to help than there are that need help."

The staff at Fedora also gets into the volunteering spirit. Mallory said half of her staff was at the Thanksgiving event working as volunteers and most, if not all, of the staff volunteered their time to help prepare.

"We really are a family here," Mallory said.

Mallory said 109 turkeys were cooked for the event and they donated an additional 26 to the Lake City Center for its Thanksgiving meal. More than 1,000 hungry stomachs were filled in a community atmosphere on Thursday and Mallory said they hope even more come next year.

"I just always wonder how many people out there who could have come didn't because they didn't know about it," Mallory said. "We definitely want more to come."

John added that the event speaks to the character and quality of the residents of Coeur d'Alene.

"We cannot execute this event without great volunteers and sponsors," John said. "It just shows you what kind of community we live in. They make sure that everyone has a place to eat."