EATON, Ohio — Preble County has a Thanksgiving tradition that's well-loved by volunteers, food lovers, and anyone in search of a home-cooked meal.

That tradition is the community dinner. The Community Action Partnership of Preble County hosts every year after an anonymous local wanted to make sure no one spent Thanksgiving alone.

In 2020, though, many people face that exact reality. The coronavirus pandemic forced even the Community Action Partnership to change the way it served its annual meal.

Instead of filling the hall in the Preble County Fairgrounds, director Janelle Caron had to turn the operation into a pickup and delivery service. Despite the change, she said canceling the event was never on the table.

"That’s one of the things about being in a small rural county is that everybody does pull together to make things happen and to help those that are in need," she said.

This year Community Action Partnership planned to serve 800 meals.

Diane Perry has been the head cook for about four years, keeping the volunteer kitchen on pace to make all of those Thanksgiving staples.

"I used work in the factory, and I’m used to working in restaurants so I just know kind of how to get things done," she said.

Perry got involved with the meal the same way most people do, she realized big, family Thanksgivings weren't in the cards anymore.

"My mother died, so she had the family get togethers and everything else," she said. "My boys were all at the point where one was going to the in-laws more."

That's when she decided to help feed everyone else.

The community dinner is open to anyone, but especially for people who don't have the means or the company to have Thanksgiving without help. Every year, drivers take them to senior centers and homebound neighbors, while the dinner welcomes anyone with an appetite.

This year, volunteers had to cook and pack all of the meals. Each family or household had an arranged time to pick them up.

The plan ensured social distancing, but volunteers saw fewer numbers and longer work.

"This year is not as many hands in the kitchen," Perry said.

Despite the decrease in manpower, the kitchen kept things moving and the meal schedule allowed the crew to space things out.

It wasn't the traditional community Thanksgiving, but the volunteers helped ensure no matter how someone spent Thanksgiving in Preble County, they had a chance to get a home-cooked meal.