(ABC 6 News) — The Salvation Army of Rochester hosted their annual Thanksgiving meal at their social services center located at 115 First Ave NE, serving more than 200 warm traditional Thanksgiving meals to the community.

“It’s like family to me,” said Katie Schweitzer of Rochester. “I give thanks to everybody here that is helping people to get through the holidays because sometimes it’s hard for people,” she said.

The Rochester Salvation Army houses around 20 to 30 people every night.

“We’ve seen a great need this past year,” said Candace Voeller, administrator of the Rochester Salvation Army. She continues, “… as you can imagine with with just how the economy has been and things. So all of our programs and services as we’ve seen just a growth in need and requests. And so we we do what we can to be able to accommodate and to support our families and our homeless and those who are just needing a little extra support this year.”

Scheel’s Sporting Goods helped contribute to the meal, but bell-ringing by Salvation Army volunteers makes up the core of their holiday mission, and they can always use more help.

To find out how to support The Salvation Army’s efforts, you can donate here.