OXFORD - For more than four decades, a group of local church volunteers in the Village of Oxford have worked to offer free Thanksgiving meals for the community.

Oxford Church Women United, is an organization made up of members from several area churches. They organized their 41st annual Free Thanksgiving meal this year.

The group includes members from St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, the United Church of Oxford and The Foundation Church, according to Penni Bradley, volunteer of the organization.

Bradley said planning for the annual meal typically begins at the end of September and continues right up through Thanksgiving Day. Food preparation starts the day before the holiday, when volunteers begin assembling the meal with ingredients donated by community organizations and supporters.

The dinner served approximately 200 to 250 people each year, Bradley said, and includes both in-person meals and deliveries.