ANDERSON, Ind. — James Warner plans to start his Thanksgiving Day bright and early, arriving at the Geater Center at 4 a.m. to begin preparations for the 27th annual Community Thanksgiving Dinner.

Warner, who has been behind the yearly dinners since their beginning, will get things going before most of his volunteers arrive at 6 a.m. and dinners begin rolling out for delivery at 10:30 a.m. Diners can come into the Geater Center for a sit-down meal between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. Thursday.

Warner’s yearly goal is to feed at least 1,000 people at the dinner, but most years he well exceeds his goal. Last year, the community dinner fed 1,480, and Warner expects more this year thanks to poor economic conditions.

“That’s my goal, is to feed 1,000 people,” he said. “I’m looking for it to be more than it was last year.”

Thursday’s menu includes turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, green beans, corn, yams, different kinds of pies and desserts and drinks. Preparations have been going into the meal for weeks now, and crews spent part of Wednesday evening unloading a truck filled with food and supplies for the dinner.

For the second year in a row, Warner and other volunteers will use a number system to serve the meals, reducing crowding in the food line.

“We tried it last year and it worked perfect,” Warner said.

This year’s dinner also is about remembering those who volunteered and developed the dinner over the years, including Booker Alexander, Charles Gardner and the Rev. Levert Braxton. A short memorial service at 10:15 a.m. will be dedicated to Jim Rozier, who helped start the dinner with Warner.

Although delivery orders ended Tuesday for senior citizens and those who are homebound, the Geater Center sit-down dinner is open to the public.

Contact Aleasha Sandley: 640-4805, aleasha.sandley @heraldbulletin.com.