A double helping of food, good company - Volunteers host hundreds at Thanksgiving feast

Christopher Corder's Thanksgiving dinner request to his folks included everything you'd expect from a college kid who's spent the past six months away from home.

Turkey, stuffing, potatoes, pie. More turkey. More stuffing. More potatoes. More pie.

But the 18-year-old Air Force Academy cadet didn't crave a mile-high plate for himself on his first trip back from Colorado Springs, Colo.

Instead, he wanted to make sure his family would continue a three-year Thanksgiving tradition of serving others at Reynoldsburg United Methodist Church.

Yesterday, the Corder family joined other church members who cooked and served -- and did the dishes -- for more than 300 guests. Some needed a good, hot meal. Others just needed some good company.

Across central Ohio, countless volunteers gave up a slice of their holiday at churches, shelters and community centers to serve Thanksgiving meals to others. At Ohio State University, about 1,000 students who couldn't make it home for the holiday were invited to dinner at the Ohio Union.

Jill Corder was happy her son made it back from college to Pickerington, but she said Thanksgiving means more than a meal with the family.

"This is our family, too," she said in a room where young and old, white and black, needy and well-to-do sat together at 20 tables.

Along with the other volunteers, Jill Corder, Christopher and her other sons, 16-year-old Nathan and 14-year-old Eli, served as much food as diners wanted.

Her husband, Don, who worked a six-hour kitchen shift for the meals served at noon and 3 p.m., said something about loaves and fishes and a nearby Kroger being able to overcome any potential shortage.

"There's just no substitute for the feeling that comes from knowing you've helped somebody," he said. "The only way you can show gratitude to God is through worship and service to others."

The Thanksgiving menu at Reynoldsburg United Methodist included 200 pounds of turkey cooked at church members' homes, gravy by the gallon, stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, green beans and cranberry sauce.

People began dropping off homemade pies -- pumpkin, apple, pecan, cherry and more -- at 9 a.m. Cooking at the church began at 9:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Nancy Mapes, whose idea started the tradition in 2004, said the dinner began as an outreach to poor and homeless neighbors but quickly expanded to include anyone who wanted to be with others on Thanksgiving.

Dayna Rosado couldn't make it to Michigan to be with her family, so she and her sons came instead to share the day with her "church family."

"We wanted some of the spirit of the holiday," she said.