While most experience the taste of a slowly roasted turkey every Thanksgiving, those without homes rarely get the privilege of partaking in a holiday feast.

Instead of a turkey, their main worry is to find a dry place to find shelter on Thanksgiving Day. And this is why Crossroads Church and California State University, Stanislaus have come together to make sure the homeless will get a piece of the turkey this Thanksgiving.

“I feel like it is important to give that Thanksgiving experience to those in need during the holidays,” said Jeremiah Fair, pastor at Crossroads Church. “It is more than just a dinner. They can come and talk to people and feel human.”

Two Thanksgiving dinners will be served for those in need on Thursday. The first dinner will be served at 4:30 p.m. for residents of a local low-income retirement home and those in the community who can’t afford a Thanksgiving dinner or have no one to spend the holiday with. Another dinner will be served at 6:30 p.m. for those at the Turlock Gospel Mission and the homeless.

Turkey, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, bread rolls, yams and much more will be served for dinner.

This is the first year that Crossroads Church and CSU Stanislaus has joined together to serve those in need a Thanksgiving dinner.

“There was a need,” Fair said.

After hearing that there were no opportunities for those less fortunate to eat a Thanksgiving meal in Turlock, the two organizations decided to get together to be one of the few options for those in need to have a holiday meal in Turlock.

Last year there were several organizations feeding those less fortunate for Thanksgiving, but this year there are none, probably due to the down economic times, Fair said.

But the church community and the college community got together to raise monetary donations along with volunteer time and specialty dishes cooked for those less fortunate this holiday season.

They are planning for a turnout of about 200 to 300 people this year.

“We want to get bigger and bigger,” Fair said.

Crossroads Church started serving those in need last year with an open Thanksgiving dinner to the Turlock Gospel Mission and they hope over the years they can open up the dinner to more of those in need.

“It is exciting to offer a place for those in need to eat during Thanksgiving,” Fair said.

To contact Maegan Martens, e-mail mmartens@turlockjournal.com or call 634-9141 ext. 2015.