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HOUGHTON -- There wasn’t much walking room in the kitchen of Grace United Methodist Church this morning. 

But that didn’t stop these volunteers from peeling potatoes and chopping up the onions in preparation for the hot meal deliveries.

The church has been participating in Little Brothers Friends of the Elderly Hot Meals program for over 20 years. 

It usually takes about three hours to cook all of the food and then volunteers begin pouring in.

“We’re trying to set it up as far as we possibly can so when people arrive all we have to do is put the hot trays together and put them in the bags and they can be on their way and get them out to the people that need them,” said volunteer Byron Quinn.

This is the first time the Kowalski family is volunteering and they decided to spend this thanksgiving helping others.

“My boys here Jacob and Joseph are in Boy Scouts and we thought it would be a good opportunity for them to reach out to the community,” said volunteer Dan Kowalski.

All of these bags are decorated with a thanksgiving theme and before they leave the door, a flower is added as a final touch.

One hundred thirty one hot meals are delivered to the homebound elderly friends all across the Keweenaw.

After all the hard work these volunteers have put into their day, it’s finally time to sit down and enjoy Thanksgiving dinner with their elderly friends.

From the volunteers to the elderly friends, Little Brothers is like a family and for many this event becomes a tradition.

“They’re spending the holiday with their neighbors or making new friends and I just think it becomes a great experience. Once you do it, you kind of get hooked in and you want to do it again,” said Cathy Aten, Little Brothers volunteer program coordinator.

Little Brothers is entering its 30^th year and its goal is to celebrate this Thanksgiving with friendship and love.