Stewpot will be serving its annual Thanksgiving blessing today.

The Natchez soup kitchen will serve dinner from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. for those who are in need of a Thanksgiving meal.

The Stewpot staff welcomes anyone to come by its East Franklin Street location today for a free Thanksgiving Day meal.

&uot;The Stewpot serves anybody that comes to the door — no questions asked,&uot; said Shirley Wheatley, Stewpot director.

Carryout meals are also available to those who have made previous arrangements, she said.

The Stewpot serves meals every day of the year with Thanksgiving being its biggest day.

Wheatley said she expects the Stewpot to serve around 170 meals today with most of those being carryout meals.

Today’s meal will be a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. Volunteers helped to cook 15 turkeys for the meal, Wheatley said.

The West Bank Eatery donated the dressing for the meal, she said.

&uot;It’s the fact that it’s a holiday and they can come,&uot; Wheatley said. &uot;It’s like coming to a family dinner.&uot;

Extra volunteers usually help out on Thanksgiving making the day even more special, she said.

Although other Miss-Lou charity groups will not be open today, many have been providing or delivering meals in recent days.

Edwina Petersen at the Natchez Senior Center said they delivered meals Wednesday along with a &uot;cold pack&uot; of canned foods, vegetables and juice to nourish seniors over the holiday weekend. The Salvation Army also delivered meals Wednesday and gave out 147 Thanksgiving food baskets to families in need, said Lt. Bobby Westmoreland, of the Salvation Army.

&uot;This begins our seasonal assistance,&uot; Westmoreland said.

Organizations in Concordia Parish such as the Concordia Council on Aging and Feed the Hungry also provided food this month for seniors.