The Brass Rail Steakhouse delivering over 10,000 dinners to needy families on Thanksgiving (UPDATED)

Update: As of November 19, 10,000 people had signed up with The Brass Rail for a free Thanksgiving meal, and the restaurant is no longer accepting orders. Cash contributions are still being accepted. To contribute to the cause, call 636-329-1349.

A St. Louis–area restaurant is upping its game this year for Thanksgiving. The O'Fallon, Missouri is adding a winter clothes donation to its annual tradition of cooking holiday meals for the community.

The Brass Rail Steakhouse will deliver more than 10,000 dinners to needy families in the St. Louis area on Thanksgiving day. The restaurant will also include warm hats and gloves with the meal. It has received clothing donations from individuals across the country who caught wind of the project and wanted to help.

“We had so many volunteers coming back from deliveries last year saying they went to houses with no electricity, or saw families in the city with school-aged kids with no hats and no gloves,” Brass Rail owner Scott Ellinger said. “We made the decision that if we can feed them for a day, we can put hats and gloves on them as well.”

The Brass Rail will also serve a made-from-scratch, buffet-style meal at its restaurant on Thanksgiving. The schedule for Thanksgiving Week is as follows:

· Nov. 16: Two refrigerated trucks will arrive at Brass Rail, with the first of nearly three tons of food arriving at the Brass Rail.

· Nov. 18: Brass Rail team will start preparing the gravy and cranberry sauce (10 a.m.-10 p.m.)

· Nov. 19: Brass Rail will be preparing and portioning more than 2,000 pounds of mashed potatoes

· Nov. 20: Kids night! Kids around the community will help sort vegetables and stuffing into containers from 3-10 p.m.

· Nov. 21: The St. Louis Barbecue Society and several food trucks will be parked in the Brass Rail parking lot, cooking thousands of turkeys, all day.

· Nov. 22: Thanksgiving. There will be hundreds of volunteers packing up the meals and delivering them to those in need, as well as area shelters, within a 60-mile radius of the restaurant. The Brass Rail restaurant will be open throughout the day to serve first responders, police and firefighters, as well as homeless, a Thanksgiving buffet.

· Starting this Sunday November 18, Brass Rail staff and volunteers will be working around-the-clock to prepare Thanksgiving. They will work through Thanksgiving evening.

The restaurant started the dinners in 2014 to feed the National Guard during the unrest in Ferguson. The Brass Rail fed 1,300 people that year, and organizers plan to feed more than 11,000 people this year.

The Brass Rail has enlisted the help of volunteers in the St. Louis area to help deliver the dinners. Volunteers will deliver meals everywhere from Cahokia, Illinois, to Washington, Missouri.

The restaurant is still recruiting delivery drivers and volunteers to help cook and serve the meals. To volunteer, call 636-329-1349.

Located at 4601 State Highway K, The Brass Rail will be open from 10:00 a.m.–5 p.m. on Thanksgiving. Walk-ins are welcome, and no reservations are necessary.