For the 41^st time, volunteers across metro Atlanta have worked all day and all night to prepare a hot Thanksgiving meal for those that need it.

Thousands are expected at the Georgia World Congress Center for the annual Hosea Feed the Hungry and Homeless Thanksgiving dinner.

The volunteers arrived on Wednesday at the DeKalb County jail to handle the baking and the frying. The sheriff’s office donates a large kitchen for the volunteers to prepare the meals.

Edward Parker has been a chef for the event for 27 years.

“We get new volunteers and they get hooked and they come year after year,” Parker told Channel 2 Action News.

Besides the turkey, dressing, green beans, and pumpkin pie, HFTH CEO Elizabeth Omilami tells WSB they'll be helping the homeless find jobs in these tough economic times.

“We are not talking about the hobo or the drunk on the street,” Omilami said, “homelessness now is defined by people living in boarding houses and hotels. People who are working and are living with other people. If you are now is not on the lease you are considered homeless.”

The organization is one of the longest-running non-profits in Atlanta and helps 61,000 people a year.