Solid Rock Church of God is celebrating their 26th anniversary of providing free Thanksgiving meals to anyone who wants one.

The church's women's ministry is in charge of the program, which is planning to prepare enough food for around 350 people this year. The program has grown since it was first begun by the church's youth ministry in 1983. That first year it served less than 50 people. According to members of the church the program is a way to share the love of God and the love of Jesus with the community.

The dinners are free to everyone and can be delivered upon request to anyone within the Centerville city limits. To request meals, call the church at (641) 856-8308. Meals begin being delivered around 10:30 a.m. on Thanksgiving. People who want to eat at the church can drop in between noon and 2 p.m. The meal this year will consist of turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans, rolls with butter and pumpkin pie. The church said that usually over fifty percent of their meals are deliveries.

Cooking will begin today, with pies, rolls and turkeys being completed that night. Volunteers will come in the next morning to prepare the vegetables and get ready for deliveries to begin. The church youths will be preparing the pies this year.

The whole process takes between 25 and 30 volunteers to pull off and is paid for by donations from church members. In the past, the church has taken donations from local businesses, but decided this year to try to fund the program themselves. The church also recently completed their first cookbook and is selling them for $10. Anyone interested in purchasing a cookbook can call the church. Solid Rock Church of God is located at 1220 Rock Valley Road in Centerville.