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MENDON, ILL. -- Northern Adams County is gearing up for a longtime tradition Saturday.

The Pork-A-Rama is one of the biggest charity breakfast's in the Tri-States, attracting more than a thousand people each year.

The Ursa Lions Club puts on the event each year, known for its plethora of pork.  This year marks 56 years of the Pork-A-Rama.

Alan Deusterhaus has been an Ursa Lion for more than ten years.

Like so many years past, he's with fellow club members preparing all the fresh pork needed to feed the more than 12 hundred hungry customers who attend the fundraiser each year.

"We begin planning for the day in November," Deusterhaus said.  "We get our volunteer lists together and begin checking all of our equipment."

It takes a lot of food to feed 12 hundred people. Wrap your head around this -- When it's all said and done 75 hundred pounds of meat will be cooked up ... including thousands of pounds of sausage, 400 pork chops, and 200 pounds of ribs."

That doesn't even count the hundreds of potatoes, gallons of gravy and plethora of pancakes coming out of this kitchen.

Melissa: On the day of the event all the action is outside ... where members start up specially made cookers when you're sleeping to grill all the pork chops, sausages and baked potatoes for the annual feast.

But organizers say the most important ingredient in this community fundraiser is the community ... and not just the ones at the tables.

Like many other organizations, club members are getting older. But to keep this event going strong Deusterhaus says people from all over Northern Adams County come out to help. And when everyone pitches in, it benefits more than just your tastebuds.

All the proceeds fill in gaps in the community - going to camps, school programs, scholarships, lead dogs for the blind as well as eye glasses and hearing aids.

So you could say Lions Club members like Deusterhaus are making the world a better place ... one bite at a time.

The 56th annual event will be at Unity High School in Mendon on Saturday, January 19. The Pork-A-Rama runs from 6:30 a.m.-10 a.m. Saturday morning for breakfast and 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. for lunch, or until food runs outs.  The cost is $9/per adult and $5.50 for children ages 5-11 years old.  Children under 5 are free.

Meat sales of the Lion's famous linked sausage are also available.