With many residents still struggling because of the bad economy, providers of annual Thanksgiving meals are bracing for an increase in the number of people who will turn out for a free holiday dinner tomorrow.

From the Salvation Army dinner at the Neal Blaisdell Center that is expected to draw close to 2,000 to the smaller River of Life lunch, organizers are planning for one of the largest turnouts in recent years.

Davi Teves, River of Life spokeswoman, said her organization plans to serve more than 700 people, but said it's difficult to predict if more will show up. The non-profit organization provides services for the homeless and indigent and has never turned anyone away, she said.

"We don't know this year because there's so many more people that need help, so we're gearing up for that," Teves said. "It just keeps rising and rising over the years."

The Salvation Army last year served more than 1,800 meals, and officials believe that number will increase this year.

This time last year, the state's unemployment rate was 4.9 percent and on the rise. The latest unemployment numbers show the state's jobless rate at 7.2 percent.

"The last couple of years have been very unusual, simply because of the hard times. That may be an indication of the number of people or families that will come this coming Thursday," said Daniel de Castro, Salvation Army spokesman. "There are much more layoffs, and lots are underemployed because they lost their full-time jobs, and that's a cause for worry for many people as to whether they can even afford to have a major meal like Thanksgiving."

Tomorrow's annual dinner will feature more than 900 pounds of turkey, 40 gallons of gravy, 600 pounds of stuffing and 300 pumpkin pies. The food will be donated by local businesses and served by nearly 800 volunteers.

Although many who will show up tomorrow are in need of help, de Castro said the dinner is open to everyone.

"Many of these people are just lonely. They want to have company and be in the company of people, because they don't want to spend Thanksgiving by themselves," he said. "People have this idea that people who come to this dinner are homeless or street people, but we're always surprised that a lot of these people are well-dressed and they just want to have real company and be surrounded by what they call 'ohana for the moment."

The Salvation Army also will serve meals on the Neighbor Islands and make deliveries to people who are unable to leave their homes.