For many out-of-state or international students who prefer staying on campus to spending time traveling during this Thanksgiving holiday, campus and community groups are offering several options to enjoy a traditional Thanksgiving dinner.

“It’s not worth it to fly home to New York,” said freshman Mike Ramm. “It’s nice to have a break from classes, but the flights will take too long and I’ll lose more time with the time difference.”

Stanford Dining has abridged hours for the weekend, with dining hall closures beginning tonight and ending on different times over the weekend. However, the ASSU and the GSC are sponsoring a Thanksgiving meal at the Wilbur dining hall on Thursday for the seventh year. All Stanford students, as well as their family and friends, can attend the buffet-style meal from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Although the registration period for the Wilbur buffet has already ended, students can still sign up to pick up box lunches from Wilbur tomorrow. The ASSU and the GSC are also sponsoring a canned food drive for the Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Clara and San Mateo Countries during the buffet.

Several resident fellows are hosting Thanksgiving dinners for their residents at their apartments as well. Patrick Young, resident fellow of West Florence Moore Hall, is holding a Thanksgiving dinner for the first time.

“I believe that dinner in the RF apartment will provide for a more personal, family-like atmosphere than dinner in the dining hall,” Young wrote in an e-mail to The Daily.

Young estimates that about 20 to 30 students will stay in WestFlo for Thanksgiving, with more returning on Friday and Saturday. He believes that campus or staff-sponsored events make a big difference in students’ holidays.

“Thanksgiving is a family-oriented holiday and it can be hard on students that aren’t able to go home to see friends and family,” he wrote. “Providing dinner in the RF apartment or even in Wilbur dining goes a long way to letting the students know that they are cared for.”

The Stanford Parents’ Club is also sponsoring a series of Thanksgiving dinners at the homes of local students for the second year in a row.

“The dinners are hosted by parents who want to welcome Stanford students into their homes,” said Marijke Vallaeys, the president of the club. The idea for this program was proposed by Dean of Freshman and Transfer Students Julie Lythcott-Haims.

“We immediately responded,” Vallaeys said.

Although the program is promoted by both the Office of Freshmen and Transfer Students and the Bechtel International Center, not very many students participate in the program, according to Vallaeys.

“It’s not really a success, maybe because students haven’t heard of it,” she said. She acknowledged that the idea of spending an evening with strangers may be off-putting to some students, but she believes that the dinners can be a way of meeting new people.

“We would love to have students come [to our house],” she said. “I bought a big turkey, but the two students who signed up are no longer coming.”

Several students are going to the houses of friends for Thanksgiving dinner. Ramm plans on spending Thursday evening at the home of Evan Kutter, a fellow freshman who lives in the nearby town of Saratoga, with a few other dormmates.

“I don’t really care about the significance of the holiday,” Ramm said. “But it would be a lot nicer to eat dinner with a friend’s family.”