Organizations that want to "provide any assistance at Tent City and are welcome to work with Mercy House," he said.

The Orange County-based nonprofit also provides Ontario with a continuum of care, from assisting those in Tent City with food to providing residents with low-income housing options.

The city, through its efforts with Mercy House, is working to reduce the number of people who are chronically homeless by helping them transition into shelter and housing opportunities.

"By having individual organizations doing feedings, it detracts from the continuum-of-care system that we have developed," he said.

Boling said some who are receiving help from Kid Care International would fit into the Mercy House's system.

Between what Mercy House has to offer and other agencies, "there's a better way to do it," Boling said.

But Sconyers disagrees.

"The people don't qualify for Mercy House. Mercy House has not developed a plan for them, and neither has the city," she said.

Each week a different team of volunteers is tasked with preparing and serving the hot meal, she said. There's a total of six groups that range in size from 10 to 20 people.

That team of volunteers, she said, has remained so consistent for the past three years that when the groups arrive at the park they are usually done serving within 30 minutes.

In the last three months of 2009, Sconyers said, they served 725 hot meals. So far this year, they have served more than 1,000, she said.

"We're seeing a lot of underprovided people," she said. "They work, so they don't qualify for welfare, or their hours may have been cut, but they are still getting a paycheck, so they can't file for unemployment."

On this last Saturday, as some homeless people congregated around the tables, children joined them with their parents, who were also waiting for the free meal.

The youth group from Granite Creek Church in Claremont was in charge of this feeding. As the warm eggs, sausage and orange juice were being dispersed, people got news of the hot meals coming to and end at the park.

Alejandro Aguilar, who has been eating breakfast at the park for the past six months, was upset.

"This is very essential for the poor families that live around this area," he said. "This was really important for families that are already struggling."