A small army of volunteers will be cooking and serving more than 200 turkeys for the 12th annual  free Manteca Community Thanksgiving dinner taking place Thursday, Nov. 25, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Golden West School on North Main Street.

Organizers are prepared to serve 3,000 meals — slightly more than last year  — in takeout format to those that drop by.

This year will again see a drive-thru format due to COVID pandemic protocols. 

The effort is headed by Manteca Rotary and the Sunrise Kiwanis with help from Manteca Interact, Manteca Police Officers Association, and the Manteca Unified School District.

The meal will consist of turkey, mashed potatoes, dressing, gravy, corn, roll, and pumpkin pie. The meal is available for delivery for those who are unable to secure transportation.

There are three ways you can help. You can be a cash donor. Donate your time to help prepare and serve meals and/or make an online donation at Sunrisekiwanis.org/thanksgiving.

Monetary donations can be made out to the Manteca Sunrise Kiwanis “Thanksgiving Meal”, P.O. Box 752, Manteca, CA, 95336 or by contacting Carol Davis at (209) 825-4282.

If you would like to donate your time to help prepare meals, contact Tevani Liotard at wecookturkeys@comcast.net.