At the Dream Center in Newark, food distribution is about more than placing groceries in a car. For Matt Morrison and his team, it is about offering hope, building relationships and connecting neighbors to the resources they need most.

Since opening in March 2020, the Dream Center has been committed to meeting people where they are. What began during the uncertainty of the pandemic has continued as families face new challenges, including rising food, fuel and utility costs.

“Our goal and our purpose here at the Dream Center is to give people hope,” said Morrison. “From the beginning, our Box of Hope program was designed that way.”

Each month, the Dream Center serves about 240 families through its drive-through food distribution. Families receive a Box of Hope filled with shelf-stable foods, along with supplemental items such as milk, eggs, butter, frozen foods and snacks when available. Morrison estimates that each family receives about $100 worth of groceries — without having to leave their car.

Thanks to its partnership with the Food Bank of Delaware, the Dream Center is able to offer a variety of high-quality foods that help sustain families.

“What’s been so beautiful about our relationship with the Food Bank of Delaware is that they are always trying to connect us with resources,” Morrison said. “We distribute resources as fast as we get them. That’s what we do.”

The Dream Center’s work extends beyond food. Morrison and his team are also addressing mental health, substance abuse and educational needs in the community. Through an opioid abatement grant, the Dream Center is collecting anonymous community surveys to better understand how substance use is impacting families. The organization will also offer Living Free counseling classes, including a trauma course and a support group for people trying to help loved ones access treatment.

“What we’re hearing is that it’s not always the person coming through the line who is struggling with substance misuse,” Morrison said. “Often, it’s a family member, neighbor or someone close to them.”

Morrison said many families are facing a combination of challenges. Mental health concerns, substance abuse, job loss, medical bills and rising costs can quickly overwhelm a household.

“When you have the mental health component in play and then add the economic component, that’s what tips the ship over,” he said. “People start to lose hope.”

The Dream Center is also preparing to launch a new STEAM lab for students, building on its Dream Readers Program for fourth and fifth graders. The after-school program will help students strengthen reading skills while also exploring science, technology, engineering, arts and math. Local schools, corporate partners and volunteers are helping bring the space to life.

For Morrison, all of the Dream Center’s work is connected.

“We’ve got the mental health piece, we’ve got the students, and we’ve got the food,” he said. “Those are three key areas of community.”

Volunteers are also central to the Dream Center’s success. Each distribution takes about 18 to 20 volunteers to pack boxes and another 18 to 20 to distribute them. The volunteer calendar is already booked months in advance — a good problem to have, Morrison said.

Still, the need continues to grow. Morrison would like to expand the drive-through food distribution to twice a month and increase home deliveries for neighbors who are homebound or unable to get to the Dream Center.

“We have the system, we have the process, and we know what we’re doing,” he said. “We just want to be able to give people what they need.”

For the Food Bank of Delaware, partners like the Dream Center are critical to reaching neighbors across the state with dignity, compassion and care.

“We’re just a vehicle,” Morrison said. “We’re here to help.”