OLD ORCHARD BEACH — Volunteers busied themselves in the kitchen Sunday at the Old Orchard Beach United Methodist Church, preparing to serve Thanksgiving dinner with all the fixings to as many as 200 people this Thursday.

For the sixth year, the church is providing a free community dinner on Thanksgiving Day, with delivery service to those living in Old Orchard Beach, Saco and Biddeford.

Pastor Michael Gray said he proposed the idea of the dinner soon after he started his pastorship at the church. The church has a food pantry, and this seemed like the next step, he said.

Over the years, volunteers have organized the preparation, with people working in shifts on Thanksgiving Day and completing different tasks that are spread out throughout the week. Turkeys will be cooked in the homes of various community members.

On Sunday after the morning church service, volunteers were busy peeling carrots.

“The church has helped me before. This is one small way I can give back,” said church member Debbie Brown.

Many volunteers come back every year, but there were some newcomers.

Beth Othmer of Biddeford said she saw a notice in a local paper for volunteers and contacted Gray. She said that helping out at a community Thanksgiving dinner is something she’s always wanted to do.

“I think it’s important to give back to the community,” she said.

Old Orchard Beach resident Jacqui Deveneau said that since her mother died in 2001, she hasn’t had a family gathering for Thanksgiving. This was her first time volunteering for the dinner, and she said she intends on doing it next year as well.

“You need to give when you can,” she said.

Food and monetary donations make the dinner possible, said Gray, who said the church served 140 dinners last year. This year, the church is prepared to serve about 200.

Volunteers deliver extra meals through what Gray calls “random acts of kindness” to area businesses that are open, and agencies like police stations and the turnpike authority.

Leftovers will be made into pot pies and used at future church events, said Green, and Gray said that unopened items will go to the church’s food pantry.

The Thanksgiving Day meal will be served from noon until 2 p.m. on Thanksgiving, and delivery service will start at 11 a.m. Those in need of a ride or a meal delivery should leave a message at the church phone at 934-5553 or e-mail the church office at info@oobumchurch.org.

— Staff Writer Liz Gotthelf can be contacted at 282-1535, Ext. 325 or egotthelf@journaltribune.com.