ADAMS — If anyone thought that a lunch of lutefisk would only draw a minor crowd at the Little Cedar Lutheran Church in Adams on Wednesday, think again.

Just finding a parking space, even by the end of the meal, was a bit of a challenge.

“I love it,” proclaimed Jeanne Rodrigue, of the Norwegian delicacy.

She was not alone, not by a long shot. She and almost 350 others came to the first half of the annual Lutefisk and Swedish Meatball Buffet, held at the church.

The second half was served over the supper hour, when another 300 or so were expected.

Many of the hungry were of Norwegian heritage, like Rodrigue. Even though the name, “Rodrigue,” she said, was French,  she had the heart of someone from the north country. She was also dressed in a bunad, a ceremonial Norwegian dress, created by her mother, Joyce Halver, and her grandmother, Helen Anderson, many years ago.

Rodrigue was in town from near Duluth to take in the meal with her mother and sisters Judy Granmo and Joni Varner.

Attending the buffet is a tradition, but she will also “go out of my way” to find lutefisk, she said. Granmo loved it as well, although their sister, Joni, wasn’t much of a fan and settled for meatballs.

But whether you were a lover of lutefisk or meatballs, you had plenty to eat Wednesday. That’s why any and all volunteers who could be found were tapped for the event, which has been held in some fashion “for 80 or 90 years,” said church member Joni Osmundson, as she worked at a bazaar being held at the same time.

And that made sense, given the church was founded by Norwegians.

“And, a few Swedes,” she said.

Joyce Halver had already put in quite a few hours; for the past 30 years or so, she has helped organize the “pre-show” to the buffet — a coffee, with cookies, held elsewhere in  the church at 9 a.m. “(Because) a lot of people came early” to wait for the buffet to open, or to shop in the bazaar, Granmo said.

Southland High School students were enlisted to help with the supper crowd, since the older set used their energies for the luncheon.

Dave and Millie Weness were there for both meals. They have volunteered for the effort for Little Cedar for many years; Dave estimated that as a 73-year member of the church, he had worked on the buffet for 40 of those years.

This year, he said, the volunteers prepared 450 pounds of lutefisk and almost that many pounds of rutabagas, also served with the meal along with mashed potatoes, cranberries, lefse. and Norwegian bakery treats for dessert.

The Swedish meatballs have become increasingly popular, since lutefisk isn’t a favorite among the younger crowd, they said. Millie said about 20 years ago, an attendance record of about 1,200 came to the buffet.

“But it just about killed us,” she said with a laugh.

“Today, it’s about half that number,” Dave said.

They are happy with that number. Homemade food and good company have kept  turnout steady. “And the meatballs are made from scratch,” said Millie. Made of both pork and beef, she said about 240 pounds of meat was used.

Dave said it takes about three days to prepare for the entire meal, starting on Sunday. While lutefisk might have been traditionally prepared in early years — which meant you had to soak the fish in the traditional lye, and then rinse water, which took over a week from beginning to end — all that preparation is done by the processor before arriving at the church, he said.

They have faithful followers, “who will come from miles around,” Dave said, from both Iowa and Minnesota.

“Some will go to every (supper) they can find,” said Millie, nodding in agreement.

“And we’ll keep doing this, as long as we have the people and volunteers who can help,” Dave said.