More than 1 million New York City residents are facing uncertainty with their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, benefits as the government shutdown continues, leaving many families unsure how they’ll afford their next meal.

With benefits on hold, food insecurity is growing across the city.

In Mott Haven, volunteers are stepping up to fill the gap – serving free, hot meals to neighbors in need.

Gov. Kathy Hochul recently announced millions in state funding to support food banks. At one breakfast giveaway in the Bronx, however, the effort is powered entirely by community donations and local support. Boots on the Ground, a grassroots group founded by Bronx native Maddie Marinez, had a line Saturday that stretched down the block at 149th Street and 3rd Avenue.

“It all started earlier this year — just me handing out oatmeal from a shopping cart,” Marinez said. “Everyone needs a hot meal. I was out here too before, and I know how much this community needs this.”

Marinez and her team now serve full plates to anyone who shows up. Boots on the Ground continues to host free breakfast events every Saturday.

Two federal judges ruled nearly simultaneously on Friday that President Donald Trump’s administration must continue to pay for SNAP, the nation’s biggest food aid program, by using emergency reserve funds during the government shutdown.

The judges in Massachusetts and Rhode Island gave the administration leeway on whether to fund the program partially or in full for November. That also brings uncertainty about how things will unfold and will delay payments for many beneficiaries whose cards would normally be recharged early in the month.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture planned to freeze payments to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program starting Nov. 1 because it said it could no longer keep funding it due to the shutdown. The program serves about 1 in 8 Americans and is a major piece of the nation’s social safety net. It costs about $8 billion per month nationally.