LOUISVILLE, Ky. — According to Feeding America one in eight Kentuckians experience hunger. Some nonprofits are providing meals to those that may not have a hot meal on Thanksgiving. 

The Salvation Army’s Red Kettle Café dining room will be filled on Thanksgiving.

Kitchen manager Richard Dowell is prepping for a full house. 

“We’re getting the turkeys ready to warm up tomorrow. Preparing the sweet potatoes. Got the green beans in today. We’ll be seasoning them and getting them ready to go on. Just prepping up, getting the pies ready to be cut tomorrow,” Dowell said. 

The Salvation Army says it plans to serve hundreds of meals.

Dowell has been working at the homeless shelter for almost nine years.

He said he enjoys seeing everyone come together on Thanksgiving.

“We feed the homeless and so they appreciate the food. And then we’ve got a lot of volunteer helpers. So when volunteers come in, they enjoy. And so you’ve got two people coming together, both enjoying the thing. We’re right in the middle of it.”

Major Mark Hunter oversees the Salvation Army operation in Louisville.

He says recently; they have served more people than in previous months.  

“We are seeing the stress, the financial stress that most families are enduring and they’re having to make hard decisions. And we’re just thankful that we’re in a position that we can help them with food boxes and also hot meals,” Hunter said.

The kitchen staff is preparing 30 turkeys and about 110 pounds of mashed potatoes.

“Just knowing everybody and anybody we can touch with food and giving them food on Thanksgiving. It’s just a beautiful feeling. Just feeding people,” Dowell said.

The Salvation Army’s Red Kettle Café serves over 50,000 meals a year. 

Salvation Army of Louisville is accepting volunteers to ring the bell and help with the angel tree this holiday season.