From her sickbed, Rhonda Fisher is desperately trying to pull together the annual free Thanksgiving dinner she’s thrown for Sunbury residents for the past nine years.

“I can’t let people down,” she said. “They rely on it and look forward to it.”

Fisher had back surgery on Thursday, just two weeks before the Thanksgiving dinner that last year served 400 people.

“They’re like an extension of my family,” she said.

Thirty turkeys are on hand, she said, but she still needs hams and desserts, along with funds for the incidentals.

“I need to buy milk, eggs, spices, bread and broth for the filling, the usual last-minute items,” she said.

The first year she sponsored the dinner, Fisher remembers, 97 people came. She operated the Market House Cafe in Sunbury at that point, and she served the free meal at her restaurant. Now, the dinner is held at Special Occasions, 132 S. Second St.

Fisher understands that money is tight for a lot of people this year. She’s been out of work for several months following an injury at her job.

“I really need some help,” she said. “Manpower is the big thing.”

In past years, over 75 volunteers helped her. So far this year, she said, she has about 45 volunteers ready to work.

“One lady from New York called me,” she said. “Her mother lives in Sunbury, and last year she and her kids came and helped. One of the kids reminded her to call her grandma and get them signed up.”

Two elderly widowed women are also ready to help her again, she said. They need to feel needed, she believes.

Another woman who showed up last year with a bag full of hats, gloves and mittens she knitted has already told Fisher she’ll be back this year.

“It’s just a joy to have them all here,” she said.

She also needs help on Nov. 25, the day before Thanksgiving, to set up at Special Occasions, and she needs volunteers willing to make deliveries for folks unable to come to the dinner.