NATCHEZ &8212; It only takes 145 scoops of green beans to make a family.

That&8217;s what the 10-person assembly line learned early on at the Stewpot Thursday morning.

Some of the volunteers had met each other elsewhere, but most were strangers.

And all 10 came in the door missing family and friends.

&8220;My heart is in Tennessee and Texas,&8221; Joyce Wesley said.

Wesley passed up the regular trip to spend the holiday with her children this year to help with a festival at her church this weekend.

&8220;This is the first time ever that I haven&8217;t cooked a Thanksgiving meal at my home,&8221; she said.

A Thanksgiving trip for Stacy and Eric Speas got canceled due to a death in a friend&8217;s family.

And Rose Jones found herself alone and feeling sad Thursday morning.

&8220;I turned on the TV and (a program) said &8216;don&8217;t stay home and get depressed, go out and serve your community,&8217;&8221; Jones said.

So she did.

And it was the same idea that brought the whole group together.

Wesley found out quickly that sacrificing her family time was worth it.

&8220;I&8217;m enjoying this,&8221; she said. &8220;I&8217;m still having Thanksgiving with the family. A new one.&8221;

Deborah Berry &8212; the dressing scooper &8212; agreed.

&8220;Today I&8217;m with a different kind of family,&8221; Berry said. &8220;And that&8217;s what Thanksgiving is all about.&8221;

Speas said the arrangement at the Stewpot was in ways better than a traditional family gathering.

&8220;Family holidays are sometimes filled with strife,&8221; she said. &8220;There isn&8217;t any strife here today. I&8217;m enjoying the banter.&8221;

If the first 145 scoops formed the family, the last 155 or so sealed the bonds. The group arrived around 10:30 a.m. and worked for several hours filling approximately 300 Styrofoam trays with a slice of turkey, dressing, sweet potatoes, green beans, cranberry sauce, a roll and dessert. Approximately 50 locals came to the East Franklin Street Stewpot to pick up their Thanksgiving Day meals. Another 250 were delivered around Adams County.