Due to COVID-19 restrictions last year, the Community Thanksgiving Meal only produced around 200 meals, but this year in Clinton County, the meal numbers were back above 1,500 for the Thanksgiving holiday. This year, volunteers put together 1,460 boxes of meals.

Boxes were stacked up and an assembly line was working hard in the kitchen at Clear Fork Baptist Church Thursday morning to prepare food to be handed out.

Above, Zack McFall, Nick Poore and Kyle Choate helped pour mashed potatoes into pans in preparation for the day ahead. Right, Hunter Shearer had more than 70 turkeys on his smokers Thursday morning to donate his services for the Community Thanksgiving Meal.

Melissa Tallent, along with her daughter Kiley Hoppe, have been in charge of the event for the past nine years.

“We are very thankful for each and every volunteer who takes time away from their families to come and be a part of this event. For some volunteers, especially those who have been involved since the beginning, this meal is more than just a day of volunteering it has become its own family,” Tallent said. “Each year, I am reminded of how God provides when He places something on your heart. Sometimes what seems like a set back, God uses it to put you in the right place at the right time. This year that happened multiple times. We just never realize how blessed we are until we see life through the lens of someone else. The Community Thanksgiving is something Kiley and I look forward to each year; it is one of our greatest blessings.”