DES MOINES, Iowa — Organizations offering community Thanksgivings in Des Moines are reaching capacity in record numbers, with thousands seeking out meals.

Chucks Restaurant in Des Moines has hosted the Parks Community Thanksgiving for 40 years. On Thanksgiving they offer a sit-down dinner in the restaurant, and they offer meal deliveries.

This year the sit-down dinner will run from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. and they will deliver over 2,700 meals directly to homes around Des Moines on the morning of Thanksgiving.

Another organization hosting a community Thanksgiving, Hope Ministries, will serve over 4,000 meals during Thanksgiving. Around 3,800 will be delivered to homes while an estimated 250 will be ready to serve at the Hope Cafe.

“We have hit capacity every year at Thanksgiving, which is why we have been blessed to be able to work with partners and expand our capacity. Obviously, we haven’t reached the limit of the need yet, so this is our biggest meal outreach ever and we are still hitting capacity,” said Kathy Coady the Chief Development Officer at Hope Ministries.

The Bethel Mission Hope Cafe will serve their dinner from 12 to 1 p.m. Hope Ministries expected thousands for their deliveries, but Kathy says the in-person turnout is best guess. On a robust day Hope Cafe will serve over 100 people, during the holiday season the numbers increase to 150 or more.

“A lot of it depends on the weather, so if there is mild weather on Thanksgiving Day, I’m sure we are going to have a big turnout,” said Coady. “We’ll see how many people show up, and then we are going to gauge, you know following the holiday, and assess if we can continue to grow our capacity.”

Each year Hope Ministries works to expand the number of meals they are able to serve. Over the past years the growth in need for Hope Cafe services has demanded continued increases. With delivered meals reaching capacity so far out from Thanksgiving, they are already thinking about how they will meet the demand next year.