The Salvation Army served a record 2,500 meals at its annual Thanksgiving Dinner at the Neal Blaisdell Center Exhibition Hall yesterday.

Daniel De Castro, spokesman for the Salvation Army, said organizers "pretty much used up all our food" but were able to serve all those seeking a hot holiday meal.

"It was down to the wire, but everybody got fed," said De Castro.

"This gives us an indication that a lot of people are going through hard times, and this is the only place they can get a Thanksgiving meal."

Yesterday's event marked the Salvation Army's 37th year of serving free Thanksgiving dinners to the needy on O'ahu.

Since its inception in 1971, the annual dinner — which includes turkey, stuffing and pumpkin pie — has served nearly 85,000 O'ahu residents.

Yesterday's head count topped last year's record turnout of 2,300, which included some 800 volunteers who received meals along with the needy.

This year, there were so many people that the volunteers could not be fed, De Castro said.

He added that a large, ceremonial turkey that's typically displayed on the center stage while meals are being served had be put into service to feed people.

The Blaisdell event was just one of several free Thanksgiving meals for the needy.

The Institute for Human Services, with help from volunteers from the Hilton Hawaiian Village and Hilton Grand Vacations Club, served traditional Thanksgiving lunches to about 500 people at the downtown institute facilities yesterday.

The record count for the Blaisdell is no surprise given the swelling ranks of Hawai'i's homeless.

De Castro added that the Salvation Army has seen a rise in the number of people attending its free Thanksgiving dinners on the Mainland.

"You have people who have no place else to go because they have no food or because they are homeless. If you look around in the crowd, you see a lot of senior citizens," said David Hudson, divisional commander for the Salvation Army.

"But you also see people sitting around a table with people they never met. Before the end of the dinner, they are talking story and they have become a family."

Foster Village resident Romeo Vergara was one of the 2,500 people who attended yesterday's gathering. The 70-year-old retired hotel worker said he was grateful for the meal and the free entertainment by local artists.

A local comedian emceed the event, and Henry Kapono sang several songs while meals were being prepared. Mayor Mufi Hannemann carved the first turkey.

"It's a good way to spend Thanksgiving," Vergara said.

Downtown resident Darvin Brown probably would have stayed home by himself if he hadn't gone to the Blaisdell yesterday.

"My immediate family is all gone and I'm the only one left," said the 70-year-old Brown, a retiree.

"I probably would have been sitting around listening to the football game on the radio."

Richard Samson, of Kalihi, brought his mother for Blaisdell's meal.

The 67-year-old Samson, a retired city worker, said yesterday was his first visit to the annual event, but he said that his mother and her friends have been regulars for 10 or 12 years.

"A lot of people know each other," said Samson.

"It's really good for the people."

Volunteers said they were impressed by how organized yesterday's event was. Serving more than 900 pounds of turkey and 500 pounds of stuffing to 2,500 people is a big job, said Pearl City resident Clarence Ing, who has volunteered at the annual event since 1976.

Ing noted that the size of the event has grown from about 500 meals a year in 1971 to its current 2,500.

"I'm pretty amazed to see all of this come together," added Aliamanu resident Larry Moreno, a first-time volunteer.

"Until you see it unfold, you don't see how it affects all of the people who come here."

Reach Rick Daysog at rdaysog@honoluluadvertiser.com.