On Thanksgivings past, Derius Tompkins and his family have gathered for a feast put on by his grandmother.
But this year, the family had another plan: to visit her at Memorial Regional Medical Center, where she has been for more than two weeks after surgery.
"She's the one who keeps us all together," said Tompkins, 18, of Goochland County. "We really couldn't do anything big this year."
So he, his aunt, two cousins and one of their girlfriends ate yesterday at the Community Thanksgiving Feast at the Greater Richmond Convention Center.
"I'm thankful to be around family and to be here," Tompkins said.
The feast was sponsored by The Giving Heart, an all-volunteer nonprofit group, and there was just enough turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce and other fixings to go around. Organizers had enough to make about 3,000 meals, and they served 2,850. That's up from about 2,400 meals last year.
"Perhaps, after three years, the word is getting out about the event," organizer Vicki L. Neilson said. "This is your dining room," Neilson said of all the diners, "it's just a big one."
The first seating at 11 a.m. was packed, with people lined up outside the room -- full of 112 tables and 700 volunteers -- waiting for a place to eat. Another seating was scheduled for 1:30 p.m.
During the past week, volunteers dressed, stuffed and cooked more than 300 turkeys, made 80 gallons of giblet gravy, and opened 250 cans of cranberry sauce. Food for the meal was donated by churches or raised through community food drives. Leftover food was sent to a shelter.
Two large serving stations flanked the front of the ballroom. Bags and boxes of food and clothing sat in a back corner for people to take home. Those also were donated. So were place mats, centerpieces and other items.
"It's really a grass-roots effort," Neilson said.
Attendees included single people, those with no family in the area, and people who didn't have the means to make their own Thanksgiving meal.
"It helps a lot of people, because a lot of people don't have any place to go," said Church Hill resident Horace Ford, 76, who was grabbing a bite with a friend.
Darya Suleske, her husband and two children, ages 1 and 2, were hosts at a table, taking drink orders and serving meals. The couple brought their children because they want to teach them about community service from an early age, Suleske said.
Christina McAllister, 35, and her boyfriend, Shawn Littleton, 25, are homeless and have no family in the area. They came for the meal and were surprised to see people care for them even though they were strangers.
"You have total strangers talking to you like you are family, and that feels good," she said. "It makes me feel like I'm home."
Contact Emily C. Dooley at (804) 649-6016 or edooley@timesdispatch.com.
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