The Thanksgiving holiday is all about feeding people and that's what volunteers at the Calvary Lutheran Church intend to do on November 24 as they serve a turkey meal to the homeless.

Last year 120 people showed up at the Ballard church to eat and accept free sleeping bags.

That's why church members found sleeping bags on the pews in recent weeks. They and the general public are being asked to donate sleeping bags to hand out to people who need them.

The goal this year is to collect enough bags to hand out to everyone who shows up for the meal. The church is expecting at least 130 people this year and wants to have enough bags for every person.

"We will try to give one to each of them and give them a plastic bag to keep them dry," said Emily Kristjanson, co-coordinator of the Thanksgiving lunch.

There was a shortage of funds this year to buy turkeys. "With all the disasters (Katrina and tsunami in South Asia), people are bombarded with requests," said Kristjanson.

With fewer financial contributions, WELCA (Women Evangelical Lutheran Church of America) donated 275 pounds of turkey rolls.

The turkey day preparations start the day before as volunteers slice the meat from and prepare Jello.

"It's a Lutheran church, we have to have Jello," said the other co-coordinator Polly Peterson. Jello, served in different colors is a tradition among Lutheran churches during dinners across the country.

Most of the ingredients served are donated by The Fallen Brothers charity, run by Sid Andrews. He goes around to different stores to pick up surplus food and delivers them to the Ballard Food Bank, Calvary Lutheran Church's Soup Kitchen and other feeding programs.

On Thanksgiving morning, volunteers prepare sweet potato, mashed potato and gravy, stuffing, rolls, dessert and beverages. The turkey slices are then put in the oven to be warmed up as people begin arriving to eat.

"We need volunteers early in the morning," said Peterson. Volunteers start working at 6 a.m. and some stay until 3 p.m. for the cleanup.

"A lot of people call at the last minute to bring food. Many have their own meals late and can come help for a few hours," said Kristjanson.

"It's amazing, the last couple of years, some of the homeless help out. They are appreciative and nice," said Peterson.

"You hear them say thank you and please all day," said Kristjanson.

Some attendees are regulars who come to the Calvary Lutheran Church Soup Kitchen's Monday lunch, run by the Phinney Neighborhood Center. Others hear about the meal through word of mouth.

Two volunteers sit at each table to get to know the people who come to eat. They talk about life in general, their hardships and any other topic they wish to discuss. Others prefer to remain silent.

"Many volunteers are upbeat, they make it light, to give them an opportunity to talk," said Kristjanson.

Any food that is left over is packaged for people to take with them, along with the sleeping bags.

Calvary Lutheran Church's soup kitchen has been in operation for the last 15 years. Besides their Monday meals, each Tuesday morning volunteers prepare soup and sandwiches for Ballard Food Bank clients.

The work begins at 5:30 a.m. with preparations in the kitchen. More volunteers arrive at 6:30 a.m. to assemble the sandwiches.

Last Tuesday it was chicken and split pea soup. The soup varies each week, depending on what is available. Sometimes onion, carrots, celery, pasta and meats are added to make a good basic stock.

For the sandwiches it was a particularly good day after The Fallen Brothers had dropped off chicken, roast beef, bologna and 24 loaves of bread. They sometimes average 30 to 40 loaves of bread.

"They go through all of it," said Kristjanson.

"Ballard is very giving," said Peterson.

The Calvary Lutheran Church can help feed the hungry thanks to the generosity of the community. "We have found Ballard to be responsive," said Kristjanson.

Kristjanson and Peterson say their biggest needs right now are more sleeping bags and dessert for the Thanksgiving meal.

The Calvary Lutheran Church has purchased some sleeping bags at a discounted price of $10.95 from the Fred Meyer store. They are asking for financial donations to help pay for them.

"I can pick-up sleeping bags and desserts. We can coordinate that," said Peterson. Her telephone number is 783-3630.

Anyone who would like to volunteer their time on Thanksgiving or make a monetary donation towards the sleeping bags can call Kristjanson at 713-0716.