Created: 11/25/2009 9:18:14 PM 
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- As families begin to huddle in together for Thanksgiving dinner Thursday, many on the First Coast don't have a family to gather with or even have a home for that matter.
Wednesday night, area shelters were preparing to feed thousands of people on Thanksgiving.
Whichever way you slice it, there's plenty to be thankful for if you ask those at Trinity Rescue Mission in downtown Jacksonville.
"I realize that it's better to care about other people's situations than yours," said Albert Lee Knoble, Jr., kitchen leader at Trinity Rescue Mission.
Knoble knows about giving thanks. He had a drug problem but says the mission helped him turn things around. He says now he enjoys cooking for people and seeing their expressions when they eat.
While First Coast News was there, a huge surprised was unloaded...80 Butterball turkeys donated by a local business, and they weighed 20 pounds each!
"When we went to pick up these turkeys, I actually had chills on my arms," said Knoble.
Mission staff say there's only one way to explain surprise donation like these:
"The more we give to the people coming off the street in need, the more God gives us through our contributors and donors," said Mike Jenkins with Trinity Rescue Mission.
As the donations keep coming, the mission will put them in walk-on freezers where they already have plenty of things ready and waiting like pumpkin pie.
And Jenkins says they will need all this food. "Everyone eats all they can eat. It's not just one little small plate, it's all you can eat!"
Want to know the mission's secret to preparing enough turkey to feed about 1,400 people? They say they have a special cooker that takes 100 turkeys at a time.
And if you're wondering about all those turkeys they got, most of them will be saved for Christmas dinner since dozens of turkeys were baked Wednesday evening.
©2010 First Coast News. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, rewritten, or redistributed.
