SYLACAUGA — Preparation for Thanksgiving started early on Tuesday.

Thousands of cans of food were opened by Coosa Valley Medical Center staff members for the upcoming community dinner at Reaching the World Bible Church.

The annual feast is a community-wide operation involving, among others, the non-profit group SAFE, the hospital, local churches and schools.

The cans were donated mostly from food drives by city and county schools. SAFE director Margaret Morton estimated more than 3,000 cans of food were collected.

“It is an amazing process that the entire community is invested in,” she said. “Otherwise, you couldn’t serve 2,000 people out of a small church on Thanksgiving Day.”

Around 40 employees participated in the “Can-Opening Party.” Bucket after bucket of yams, green beans and corn were transported to the kitchen staff of Hickory Street Café at CVMC to get ready for Thursday.

Amy Price, vice president of Patient Care Services at CVMC, said many people do not get the chance to see all the work that goes into the meal.

“The kitchen staff members are the real workers of the group,” Price said. “They are the ones who will cook [Tuesday night] and [Wednesday] to prepare the community Thanksgiving dinner.”

Mona Keith, a cook at the hospital for 35 years, said it was hectic cooking for so many people.

“But we don’t mind it,” she said. “We enjoy it. We just do whatever we need to do.”

Morton said this was the fifth year for the community dinner. She also said original served 200 people, ten times less than what is expected on Thursday.

Volunteers also deliver many of the meals to homes Thanksgiving Day.

“It’s phenomenal,” Morton said. “It demonstrates to the community what level of commitment we all have for our families and residents not just in Sylacauga but across the county. It really is the essence of being community based and community driven.”