Imagine sitting alone on Thanksgiving, eating a TV dinner in a basement. That is exactly what Pastor David Digby of First Christian Church had to do the first year he was in Ames.

His experience inspired the Thanksgiving meal at First Christian Church, 611 Clark Ave., said Diane McGinley, who is coordinating this year’s feast.

First Christian Church has hosted its Thanksgiving dinner for 15 years. The meal is open to anyone in the community.

All of the food is brought in by church members. Community members volunteer to serve the food and set up the tables, Digby said.

The turkey is catered by Hy-Vee, McGinley said.

Thanksgiving dinner at the church is organized by volunteers, Digby said. This year they have had an abundance of volunteers sign up. About half are from outside the church community, he said.

In past years, there have been 250 to 300 people at the dinner, Digby said.

The church expects a good crowd because there has been many inquires about the dinner.

The reason for all of the inquires could be the weather or the economy, Digby said.

McGinley said the goal for this year would be to spread the word and to get more ISU students to come, especially those who can’t make it home for Thanksgiving.

There are many different reasons for people to come to the dinner, McGinley said.

Some are homeless and would like a good meal. Others are families from the community.

“It’s the family tradition,” Digby said. “They come in early, sit down, drink some coffee and socialize.”

McGinley said there are two main groups of people who come to the dinner.

The mix of people includes those in the community who can’t afford a Thanksgiving meal of their own, she said.

One example Digby gave was families in which the grandmother has a small house and doesn’t want to cook all day. The family, instead, comes to the church dinner.

The unique group includes international students in the Ames community, McGinley said.

Most of those students don’t know what Thanksgiving is.

McGinley said she had to explain stuffing to some international visitors last year since Thanksgiving is traditionally an American holiday.

Thanksgiving has become widely commercialized in the past years, but has done a lot to help the turkey industry, said Hamilton Cravens, professor of history.

Thanksgiving originally started with the Pilgrims in colonial America, Cravens said.

It is traditional in many cultures to have a harvesting celebration. Traditional foods served on Thanksgiving are autumn foods, such as squash, sweet potatoes, and root vegetables, he said.

There are other opinions regarding the history behind Thanksgiving.

Russell Means, co-founder of the American Indian Movement, wrote in his book “Where White Men Fear to Tread,” that in 1675-1676, “after a colonial militia had returned from murdering the men, women and children of an Indian village, the governor proclaimed a holiday and feast to give thanks for the massacre. He also encouraged other colonies to do likewise.”

Devery Fairbanks, lecturer in American Indian studies, said, “Thanksgiving has a lot of theories. You should go research and find out for yourself what it is. It was the beginning of the end [for the Indians].”

Cravens said Thanksgiving didn’t become a major holiday until the 19th century, when other holidays became widely celebrated.

Thanksgiving is a holiday for families and extended families to get together, Cravens said.

In some cases it is more common than Christmas “because Christmas is for Christians,” he said.