More than 2,000 people are expected to feast on a free community Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday.

It takes place on Thanksgiving, Nov. 28, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Golden West School on North Main Street.

Many will dine in the school’s multipurpose rooms, pick up meals that have prearranged to do so,

Over 100 volunteers male the dinner possible.

Altogether, they will prepare 200 turkeys that will be sliced and served with traditional dinner trimmings.

The annual effort involves organizations such as Sunrise Kiwanis, Manteca Rotary, Manteca Police Department and other groups as well as individuals that volunteer.

The annual Turkeys R Us effort — that strives to make sure no struggling Manteca family goes without a traditional Thanksgiving dinner — is still short several dozen turkeys for Thanksgiving.

They also need to start collecting for a similar food distribution for Christmas Day meals.

Turkeys, canned goods, and monetary donations are being accepted today as well as the next three weeks Monday through Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Second Harvest Food Bank of the Greater Valley, 1220 Vanderbilt Circle, in the Manteca Industrial Park.

The Turkeys R Us effort to make sure struggling families can share in the bounty of a traditional Thanksgiving meal started 27 years ago.

Sue Teunissen, who helped launch and spearheaded spearhead the effort for years, said she couldn’t enjoy sitting down to a bountiful meal and offering blessings for her family’s spread knowing that someone in the community would not be doing the same due to their financial situation.

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To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com