Community members gather at the Salvation Army in Marquette Wednesday for a free turkey dinner with all of the trimmings. (Journal photo by Randy Crouch)

MARQUETTE — The holiday spirit was in full swing Wednesday at the Salvation Army in Marquette as it offered a free Thanksgiving dinner.

The yearly community dinner is free of charge for anybody who wants to enjoy a meal and is put on by the all-volunteer staff at the Salvation Army.

“The Salvation Army’s founder had a philosophy of ‘soup, soap and salvation’ and we try to do our best to fulfill that philosophy,” said Capt. Matthew Darrow of the Salvation Army. “We have personal hygiene items and supplementary food boxes from our feeding program that feeds 40 to 50 people daily.”

The team of volunteers prepared a full-restaurant style Thanksgiving meal, along with soft drinks and desserts.

There were plenty of people taking advantage of the free meal as well, with more than a dozen people showing up within the first 15 minutes.

“It’s a little chaotic in here but it’s for a very good purpose,” Darrow said. “We are first and foremost a church and we have a large congregation that shows up every day of the week. Our staff, volunteers and patrons work together to do all we can to meet people’s immediate needs. We can’t do everything but we try to do everything that we can.”

While there were plenty of people dining in, there were also plenty of individuals who took their meal to go.

The Salvation Army of Marquette also hosts a similar Christmas dinner later in the holiday season.

“We want people to come in and know they don’t have to lift a finger, other than the ones they use to feed themselves. We want to give them the chance to relax and to be served in the way that they deserve.”

Randy Crouch can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 242. His email address is rcrouch@miningjournal.net.