PENDLETON — Gregg Carter has a mantra — think beyond yourself.

He said it time and again while volunteering Thursday, Nov. 25, at the Pendleton Salvation Army, 150 S.E. Emigrant Ave. He helped the volunteers prepare as many as 150 meals for people in need on Thanksgiving.

Volunteers handed out tall stacks of meals made from the 25 turkey breasts, 30 boxes of stuffing, five large cans of green beans and countless amounts of mashed potatoes, candied yams, casserole and much more. They also delivered as many as 76 of them to people across town.

“I love being able to help others who need it,” said Maj. Toni Halstad, who has been active with the Salvation Army for 25 years.

Carter, a 60-year-old former U.S. Marine, traveled the country for years getting by on odd jobs from carpentry to health care before coming to Pendleton six years ago. A self-described minimalist and “mad-hatter” who lost most of his ring finger in a wood-working accident, Carter said he lives mostly out of what fits on his back and “lives and sleeps under the stars.”

This year, Carter decided to volunteer. In recent days, he has been posted outside the Pendleton Safeway as the Salvation Army bell ringer there. Speaking in energetic bursts and looking around with his piercing blue eyes at the volunteers and people stopping by for food, Carter said he has been thinking about the gratitude he feels for what he has, rather than what he does not.

The same held true for several volunteers on Thanksgiving.

Administrative assistant Melissa Widel spent her day driving around town delivering meals — like she has since March 2020, when the pandemic left countless people unemployed and shut in, heightening food insecurity nationwide. During times of greatest need, Widel said they have delivered as many as 150 meals in a single day.

“Every day is a blessing,” Widel said of her work.

Widel said she enjoys hearing the stories and grateful words of the people she serves. This year, she said the Salvation Army was fortunate to have more help than usual.

“It warms your heart,” said Widel, who works at Simply Catering.

Halstad said they ordered food early this year to avoid the supply chain issues that have swept the nation. She spent her day standing at the doorway and chatting with people as she gave them meals.

Cooking the meals in a frantic frenzy this year was Travis Hackett, a volunteer, former worker at a four-star restaurant and single father. Sweat gleaming from his forehead, Hackett said he has a goal to feed his kids well and enjoys refining his cooking skills.

So he put those skills to work with the Salvation Army, where he found a sense of community after he came to town about a year ago. Hackett said he felt a sense of teamwork through volunteering on Thanksgiving. He said it gives him a sense of purpose to help long lines of people who he doesn’t know.