A cafeteria worker prepares a Thanksgiving meal to feed hundreds

Reeds Spring, Mo. (AP) — The first year Shirley Mease cooked up a free Thanksgiving feast in the Reeds Spring High School cafeteria, icy weather kept most people away. But when her family knocked on doors to offer the meals, the gratefulness they found confirmed the need in her Missouri community.

“When you work with the school system you know the families that are in need because there are a lot of babies that come to school and that’s the only meal they get,” says Mease, who is semi-retired from her job in the cafeteria.

That first year, 2009, Mease and her volunteer crew provided 100 meals. This holiday, they expect to serve 700, drawing on donations. That’s up from about 625 last year, to account for food insecurity in many households that count on SNAP food aid benefits suspended during the federal government’s recent shutdown.

All are welcome, no questions asked.

The 73-year-old Mease, her children and grandchildren have been preparing for weeks, loading shopping carts and picking up donations. When she and volunteers arrived at the school cafeteria Wednesday to begin cooking, at least 44 turkeys and 225 pounds (102 kilograms) of sweet potatoes awaited.

“I know (SNAP) is back in working order, but it will take time for that to really help people out,” she says. “Especially in this area, the food banks are being hit very hard, so I just feel like this is a time to step it up a little bit.”