La Crosse Community Thanksgiving Dinner makes final preparations

Thanksgiving is just days away, and volunteers have already been putting in the hours to serve nearly 3,000 free meals at the La Crosse Community Thanksgiving Dinner.

Vince Risto said the effort requires more than 700 volunteers each year.

“It takes a small army,” Risto said. “We get a lot of donations. We get the schools involved. They make our pumpkin pies. We get some other local businesses that donate stuff for us. It takes a lot of people to make it work.”

Doors open at 10:00 a.m. Thursday. Nondenominational worship service begins at 10:30, and dinner is served from 11 a.m.-3:00 p.m. There is also entertainment all day including music, arts, crafts, games for children, and a large screen television for football games.

The La Crosse Community Thanksgiving Dinner is a non-profit that raises funds each year from donations through individuals, churches, businesses and community groups.

Volunteers can provide transportation if people cannot get to the dinner. Everyone in the La Crosse Community is invited to eat.

Monday is the last day to call for Thanksgiving meals to be delivered.

Monetary donations will be accepted at the dinner, but donations can also be mailed year-round.