ELKHART -- Sixty-five turkeys.
Four hundred pounds of mashed potatoes.
Four hundred pies.
Nine hundred dinner guests.
Suffice to say, the Matterhorn doesn't take hosting Thanksgiving dinner lightly.
At 11 a.m. Thursday the Matterhorn opened its doors to anyone in Elkhart looking for a hearty Thanksgiving meal. More than 200 volunteers, substantial food donations and the conference center's hospitality helped ensure that just shy of 1,000 people had a meal they could be thankful for.
Ten minutes before the Matterhorn's doors opened, a line filled with people of all ages was expanding into the parking lot.
Jason and Lisa Goldsmith were there with their sons, Cameron, Ian and Christian. The couple don't have many family members living in the area and thought the Matterhorn would provide their best chance for a holiday meal.
"We just figured this would have more of a family feel with lots of people around," Jason Goldsmith said.
The last year has been filled with mixed blessings for the family. Jason Goldsmith, who works in the logistics field, was laid off last December. But the time away from work has given him more time to spend with the kids. It's also allowed Lisa Goldsmith to focus on completing nursing school. She's set to graduate in 2011.
Kent Hilliard also turned up for dinner at the Matterhorn and was thankful to have his wife, two daughters and mother-in-law with him.
Hilliard has spent the last several years on strike against Conn-Selmer. He's seen other families torn apart because of work-related tension, but said his has held together.
"It's been rough on my kids for the last three years," he said, "but we made it."
For the last two months Hilliard has been able to supplement his income with work from a temporary employment agency.
Benjamin Hicks was also in line for dinner with his wife, Chasity, and their almost-2-year old daughter, Melody.
An Army veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, Hicks said he was just glad to be home. The Matterhorn, he said, delivered a homier feel than he'd have found had he made the trek to see family in North Carolina or Florida.
"Out here it's a better community than down where I'm from," he said.
Whatever time people had to spend waiting outside in the cold, occasionally drizzly weather was worth the feast awaiting them inside. Patrons were free to make their way through two salad bars, a buffet table stocked with turkey, green beans, yams, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy and rolls. There was also a dessert table featuring six different kinds of pie and cake.
Within 15 minutes of opening the doors 200 people had filled the Matterhorn and 100 mobile meals had been sent out.
"You can't help but feel good," said Dave Lehman, vice chair of the Salvation Army advisory board, as he looked at the crowd of people eating dinner.
Kurt Janowsky, co-owner of the Matterhorn, reached out to the Salvation Army several weeks ago and offered to help provide Thanksgiving dinner this year. Janowsky knew that the Salvation Army had fed around 400 people for Thanksgiving last year, and that the group's facility was reaching its capacity.
The joint effort was further made possible by about 200 volunteers and 20 Matterhorn employees who gave their time throughout the day. ADEC also provided a bus to shuttle people to the Matterhorn from the Salvation Army's Main Street location. About one third of the day's food was donated from area organizations. The rest came from the Matterhorn.
Lehman said he hopes Thursday's meal was the first of many collaborative efforts.
"We hope that this starts a new tradition," he said.
Elsewhere in Elkhart County, the New Beginnings Sunday School class of First United Methodist Church in Goshen provided around 250 meals to people. And on Wednesday night New Life Christian Center in Bristol served more than 100 people.