MONROE — Tony and Becky Casilla passed a group of men laying brick on Thanksgiving. They decided to stop and give each of them a dinner.

“He looked at me like he didn’t believe it,” Tony Casilla said. “You could see it in their faces; they just couldn’t believe that someone would give them free food.”

“Even as we were driving away they were in shock,” Becky Casilla said.

The Casillas, along with other volunteers, had been out delivering Thanksgiving meals to people who would otherwise not have one. The group of workers was not on their list, but got a meal anyway.

Volunteers gather every year on Thanksgiving Day to take meals around the county. Dom Duarte, who helps organize the outreach, said they served more this year than he could remember.

“It’s because of the economy,” he surmised, a theme widespread throughout nonprofit organizations that are being stretched.

Operation Reachout and Restoration House Ministries organize the feast, but food comes from donors. Duarte said he had to buy little more than a can or two of cranberries. The cost to the organizations is about 25 cents per plate, he guessed.

For 14 years, the group used the Monroe Wendy’s to cook the food, but this year it moved around the corner to the Shrine Club. Duarte said it was a nice move because the kitchen and dining areas are bigger so they can accommodate more people at a time.

Volunteers with large serving spoons stood behind tin containers filled with all the traditional Thanksgiving foods. Anyone was welcome to pass through the line and take a plateful.

Ray Richardson said he has been coming for a Thanksgiving meal for years.

“They treat you good,” he said. “They are looking out for us.”

Duarte said that he has noticed a spike in attendance, especially from the Hispanic population. That meant more children as well.

“It’s great to see the kids,” he said with a smile as a mother pushed her young daughter past Duarte in a stroller.

Youth With A Mission delivered about 300 meals earlier this week to households that could cook, but just didn’t have food. Volunteers delivered about 350 meals yesterday. Duarte did not know how many people dined in at the Shrine Club, but the food line stayed full for most of the midday.