Despite a low turnout for the Utah Food Bank's Thanksgiving food drive, turkey dinners were in full supply at shelters and service organizations throughout Utah on Thursday.

But the days ahead are still looking lean if holiday donations do not pick up soon, Utah Food Bank Director Jim Pugh said.

"We are by no means out of the woods, but we are a lot better off than we were on Saturday," Pugh said.

Last weekend's annual "Help Your Neighbor Day" food drive brought in only about 8 percent of the food usually collected on the bank's banner day for donations.

But Pugh said donations surged this week as residents heard of the shortage and infused the Food Bank with 400,000 pounds of food.

Smith's Food & Drug stores also dropped of a 40,000-pound donation Wednesday along with 280 turkeys purchased by customers for the Food Bank.

The donations, however, are still short of the 500,000 pounds of food collected by the same time last year and a fraction of the 1.5 million pounds the bank hopes to gather by Jan. 1.

"For every pound we're down from that goal is a meal someone won't eat," Pugh said. "Absolutely that could mean crisis for people."

But Pugh said there was no crisis Thursday as the Food Bank met Thanksgiving day requests from its 23 state pantries, as well as requests from agencies like Catholic Community Services and the Salt Lake Mission.

The Food Bank also met its 14,000 turkeys goal this year and hopes to gather another 4,000 before Christmas.

"People have just stepped up and helped us out," Pugh said. "Everyone who went to a pantry in need of food got it for Thanksgiving."

At the Salt Lake Mission, volunteers served nearly 1,500 meals Thursday as needy families and homeless men and women were bused to the mission from around the Salt Lake Valley.

Philip Arena, director of development for the mission, said there was more than enough food Thursday, thanks to donations from the Utah Food Bank and private companies. The mission also served 200 turkeys throughout the day.

"Usually every year the Food Bank is short, but they always come through," he said. "Some people say thank you, some people don't say anything. But we know."

Arena also said the leftovers from Thursday's meal will be served in Pioneer Park Friday or will be stockpiled for Christmas and New Year's Eve dinners.

With the Thanksgiving demand out of the way, Pugh said the Food Bank now must focus on beefing up its resources to get through Christmas and put some food aside to last through February.