Anastasia Phinnessee, left, and Taylor Reeves, both of the Youngstown area, eat Thanksgiving dinner Thursday afternoon at Rescue Mission of the Mahoning Valley.

YOUNGSTOWN — While a good meal and good company is important any day, it could be argued that both matter even more on Thanksgiving.

“I’ve had several people that are just so grateful to have a meal — and the fellowship,” said Mike Byers, food service director a Rescue Mission of the Mahoning Valley, during the mission’s free Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday.

Rescue Mission served about 500 meals between noon and 7 p.m. at its building at 1300 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. Byers said approximately 20 volunteers, including some of Rescue Mission’s clients, pitched in to make the daylong meal happen.

Offerings included all of the usual Thanksgiving dishes: turkey, stuffing, green beans, mashed potatoes, corn, cranberry sauce and dessert.

The mission hosts the holiday meal every year, even offering it to-go in 2020 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Byers said. The Rescue Mission also serves free daily 6:30 a.m. breakfast, 1 p.m. lunch and 6 p.m. dinner for anyone who is in need.

“Because we are a Christian ministry, this is our way of visibly showing the love of God,” Byers said.

Joe Eperjesi of Boardman, volunteering at the Thanksgiving dinner for the second time, said since he didn’t have family to visit on Thanksgiving, he wanted to spend it helping others. He had been at the mission since 8 a.m. and planned to stay until everything was wrapped up, he said.

“I’m just trying to serve God,” he said.

He added that he appreciated that the people who came in for meals, many who have clearly landed on hard times, always said “please” and “thank you.”

Patrick Lee Hogerty Jr. said he had been staying at the mission for the past four days and he loves the staff and the atmosphere. On Thursday, he was helping out in the kitchen by doing dishes.

“I’ll do anything they need,” Hogerty said, adding that he wanted to show the staff they were appreciated this Thanksgiving and that he hoped other clients of the mission would show their gratitude, too.

As for the Rescue Mission, Byers said the team there is incredibly grateful for the donors who provide support so they can continue to offer shelter, food and workforce assistance to those who are homeless.

He said Rescue Missions’s goal is to give people a “step up” so when they leave, they never need to come back.

avugrincic@tribtoday.com