Got turkey?

A Palm Springs nonprofit organization needs turkeys for its annual Thanksgiving Day meal.

The Well in the Desert will serve Thanksgiving dinner from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Nov. 26 at the St. Louis Catholic Church in Palm Springs.

For those without transportation, the Well will also serve a meal at its facility at 1911 E Baristo Road.

The nonprofit organization is expecting roughly 700 people and will offer face painting for children, mariachi players and a DJ. The dinner is free and open to the public. Part of the cost is being underwritten by the Auen foundation, said Arlene Rosenthal president of the Well.

Established in 1986, the Well serves monthly about 10,000 people, many of them homeless, with an annual budget of $355,000.

In January, the homeless census found 3,366 people living on the streets countywide. Of the those, about 1,400, or 43 percent, were in the Coachella Valley. One in three of Riverside County's homeless are children.

While homelessness dropped roughly 25 percent countywide, the Coachella Valley saw a 17 percent increase, according to the 2009 homeless census required the by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Rosenthal had hoped the organization would be in its new location at 55 Commercial Road near the airport by Thanksgiving, but the planning commission blocked the plans after a neighborhood organization opposed the site.

Julie Bornstein, an attorney and former Congressional candidate for the 45th district, will appeal the decision at the Dec. 2 City Council meeting on behalf of the Well, Rosenthal said.

“It’s a mission that we have to do, even if it means going back to the park we will,” she said. “If they don’t give us the opportunity to prove we’re good neighbors, what can we do?”

For more information on the event or to make a donation, call (760) 327-8577.