Dream Center in Echo Park expanding free meal offerings amid SNAP funding uncertainty

Dream Center offers daily free meals, groceries

There's help for those wondering where they'll get their next meal during the government shutdown.

LOS ANGELES - Nonprofits in Los Angeles are stepping up to help with the growing demand to put food on the table.

This comes as millions of Americans are set to have their SNAP payments for the month of November delayed due to the ongoing government shutdown.

Earlier this year, the center turned into a donation hub for those affected by January's wildfires.

Now they will be serving up more free meals to help people in need.

What we know:

The Dream Center is providing three free meals a day, Monday through Friday, with breakfast from 6:30-7:30 a.m., lunch 11 a.m. -1 p.m. and dinner 4:30-5:30 p.m. at their kitchen in Echo Park. They also serve meals on weekends.

The center has an outdoor pantry that's open from 1 to 3 p.m. Monday through Saturday for people to stop by.

‘We believe miracles happen as you go’

What they're saying:

"A massive distribution is today at 1 p.m. so people can get all the groceries they need to fill the gap with what's going on. We only had three days of reserve ourselves, but we believe miracles happen as you go, and the miracle is people in Los Angeles," said Dream Center Founder, Matthew Barnett. "They are showing up to serve, they are showing up to work in the kitchen."

Dig deeper:

The Trump Administration announced it will partially fund SNAP for November after several judges' recent rulings requiring the government to keep the food aid program running. But there are still a lot of unknowns.

With SNAP funding up in the air, many food banks and non-profits, including the Dream Center, are welcoming volunteers and accepting donations to help feed families.

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