With Thanksgiving just a couple of days away, many of us are cleaning our homes in anticipation of out-of-town guests and making trips to the grocery store in preparation of feasts of epic proportions.

We are mapping out our Black Friday — or Thursday — shopping excursions to ensure the best deals in order to cram mountains of presents under our Christmas trees.

The reality is, when we are loosening our belts after the largest meal of the year, many people in our very own community are going hungry.

But thanks to the Ironton City Welfare Mission, those in need have always been able to count on a turkey dinner with all the trimmings on Thanksgiving.

The City Mission is continuing that tradition again this year, making this the 70th year the church has served the free meal.

That’s 70 years of people volunteering to cook turkeys, prepare side dishes or donate money just to make the dinner possible.

Last year, 948 meals were served.

There is no charge for the meals. There is no paperwork to fill out to qualify for the meal and no referrals necessary.

The City Mission has understood that on this special day, everyone deserves to have the comfort of a full meal around a full table.

We hope that the community will continue to support the City Mission in this project for many more decades to come.

And as we sit down to dinner with our friends and family, we must remember to give thanks for the many blessings that are so easy to take for granted.