CCFSC
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COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Information

Helpful Links

*Important note: Food pantries are essential businesses and many continue to operate. Due to health and safety concerns, many are operating at different times and locations than usual. We recommend that you call (contact information available through Wayside and Good Shepherd) to find out the most current information before arriving.  
​MAINE - Resources
  • Maine Ready - prepare, respond, recover. 
  • Call 211 or visit 211Maine for the most up-to-date access to food and other support services
  • Good Shepherd Food Bank Food Map 
  • ​Open Maine COVID-19 Resources (variety of resources for job, medical, multilingual, etc.)
  • Maine Together (Donate, Seek Resources, Volunteer)
MAINE - Information
  • Maine-specific Coronavirus Webpage
  • ​Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Maine CDC)
​
CUMBERLAND COUNTY - Resources
  • Wayside Food Program's Community Resources​
  • Portland Food Map (what restaurants, cafes, groceries are open and what is available for take out and delivery)
CUMBERLAND COUNTY - Information
  • Press Herald Coronavirus News Hub ​
  • Metro bus line will temporarily reduce weekday service, not charge fares
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GENERAL COVID-19
  • ​COVID-19 Factsheet
  • Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
  • Coronavirus: Wisdom from a Social Justice Lens
  • Harm Reduction for Safer Drug Use & COVID-19
  • Food Resource and Action Center COVID Updates
  • APABA-AP Statement Regarding Anti-Asian Racism & COVID-19

How to Access & Support Local Food

Check out the "Maine Farm Product & Pick Up Directory" below - a wonderful resource from the University of Maine Cooperative Extension that allows you to find farms near you and information on where to access their products. 
Maine Farm Product & Pick Up Directory

​Purchase a CSA! Below is a list of CSAs available in Cumberland County. If you are a farmer and want your CSA on this list, please email info@ccfoodsecurity.org. 

Farms In Cumberland County
Alewive's Brook Farm (Cape Elizabeth)
Bumbleroot Organic Farm (Windham)
Cultivating Community / Fresh Start Farms 
Frith Farm (Scarborough)
Green Spark Farm (Cape Elizabeth)
Hancock Family Farm (Casco)
Jordan’s Farm (Cape Elizabeth)
Laughing Stock Farm (Freeport)
Milkweed Farm (Brunswick)
Winslow Farm (Falmouth)
Wolfe’s Neck Center (Freeport)

Farms Outside Cumberland County (with CC pickup or market option)
Cornerstone Farm (Palmrya)
Dandelion Spring Farm (Bowdoinham)
Goranson Farm (Dresden)
Harvest Tide Organics (Bowdoingham)
Left Field Farm (Bowdoinham)
Old Wells Farm (Limington)
Whatley Farm (Topsham)
Willow Pond Farm (Sabattus)
Wolf Pine Farm (Alfred)

​Attend your local farmers market! Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry announced that farmers markets are exempt from 10 person limits. Below are the markets open and opening soon in Cumberland County. Please respect each market's COVID-19 guidelines when attending. 

OPEN NOW
  • Bridgton Farmers Market (Saturdays) Bridgton Community Center
  • Brunswick Farmers Market (Fridays) St John the Baptist Catholic Church, 39 Pleasant Street
  • Cumberland Farmers' Market, (Saturdays) 290 Tuttle Rd.
  • Falmouth Farmers' Market, (Wednesdays) 22 Hat Trick Drive
  • Greater Gorham Farmers Market (Saturdays) 75 South St.
  • Portland Farmers Market (Wednesdays and Saturdays) Deering Oaks Park
  • South Portland Farmers Market (Sundays) City Hall Parking Lot
  • Steep Falls Farmers' Market (Saturdays) 1 Main Street at the village gazebo
  • Windham Farmers' Market, (Saturdays) 4 Turning Leaf Road

OPENING SOON
  • Yarmouth Farmers' Market, Main St. and Mill St., Yarmouth, ME 04906 (Begins June 4th)

​To find a market outside of Cumberland County or more information about farmers markets in Maine, click the image below. 
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​Search the Portland Food Map
to find and support local businesses that are still open doing take out and delivery.  
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Grow your own food! MOFGA and UMaine Cooperative Extension both have great resources and events to help you grow your own food. 
​
MOFGA
  • Garden Q+A Events
  • Basics of Organic Vegetable Gardening

UMaine Cooperative Extension
  • Garden Chats
  • General Garden Resources​​


COVID-19 Updates from Council Members

Good Shepherd Food Bank
Wayside Food Programs
Midcoast Hunger Prevention Program
Opportunity Alliance
The Locker Project
Maine Equal Justice
Preble Street
*Food boxes available at Preble street from 1:30-4:00pm every day at the dining room door on Oxford street.
ME Dept. of Agriculture
Standish Food Pantry
Maine Federation of Farmers Markets

Information on School Meals during COVID-19 Closures

Portland Schools
Yarmouth Schools
Falmouth Schools
Westbrook Schools
Brunswick Schools
RSU 5
South Portland
RSU 14
MSAD 6
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COVID-19 Translated Information & Materials 

Excellent collection of resources by Maine Immigrants Rights Coalition.
You can find additional translated print resources about COVID-19 from the CDC here. 
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French
Portuguese
Arabic
Somali
Swahili
Lingala
Kinyarwanda

How You Can Help 

  • Donate to Full Plates, Full Potential Emergency Fund
  • Donate or volunteer through Mainers Together
  • Volunteer with Preble St. Soup Kitchen 
  • Support members of your community through opportunities posted in the Maine Coronavirus Community Assistance group 
From Good Shepherd Food Bank:
  • "Check on neighbors and vulnerable community members to ensure they have a plan for accessing food, medicine, and other supplies. Should Mainers need help securing food, visit the “Find Food” section of our website to find a local resource.
  • Donate to Good Shepherd Food Bank to support the increased demand and pressure food pantries will experience.
  • Volunteer by contacting, Beth Tatro, Volunteer Manager, (207) 782-3554 ext. 1169 or btatro@gsfb.org."

Statement on COVID-19 from Executive Director, Jim Hanna
​

As COVID19 inspires fear and uncertainty in Maine communities and beyond, CCFSC remains focused on ensuring food access for people with limited income and others vulnerable to food insecurity. Nutritious food is a basic need and essential to health and wellness. As routine food access is disrupted by the spread of the virus, the most economically vulnerable are the first to suffer and the last to recover in times like this. 

We know what it will take to end hunger. It should not require a national level emergency to force us to make basic investments in the economic and nutrition safety net. In Maine, nearly 186,000 people representing about 14 percent of the population experienced food insecurity in 2019. These members of our communities are part of the 37 million Americans who struggle with food insecurity. 

On March 12, the US Congress proposed legislation that would increase the likelihood that low-income children, working people, seniors and families get access to nutritious meals during this crisis. Increasing and expanding SNAP, creating new ways to get children meals when school is closed and providing paid leave for people who have to deal with sickness are good ideas in an emergency and anytime. 

At the same time, the Trump administration is still on track to implement the change in SNAP eligibility requirements which would take food benefits away from hundreds of thousands of people starting April 1. We also know from experience that, while food banks and pantries are the vanguard of emergency response in communities, they lack the capacity to meet all the need when stressed like this. Don’t forget that the majority of volunteers are senior citizens who are most vulnerable to the worst effects of the virus. We must make sure pantries and other food distribution points have the necessary resources. This would also be a good time to implement innovative ideas that have lacked investment like subsidized food delivery to seniors. 

Calling 211 in Maine will connect you to food and other resources. You can also text your zip code to 1-800-548-6479 to locate a local emergency food provider and other support services. CCFSC has developed a Portland specific food resource guide. There is also a Cumberland County guide for food pantries on our web site. 

It is important to rally now to keep our vulnerable neighbors healthy and secure. We also will need to remember these efforts as we develop solutions that will make food and economic insecurity a thing of the past. This commitment to healthy food for all must be in place whether we are experiencing a pandemic, a natural disaster or the normal rhythms of everyday life.

To learn more, you read Jim Hanna's Op-Ed in the Press Herald. 

COVID-19 & the Food System

For more information, please visit this living document that includes links to articles and research about COVID-19 is impacting and affecting the food system. 
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​
​Cumberland County Food Security Council
PO Box 1399
Portland, ME 04104
info@ccfoodsecurity.org

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  • Home
  • About
    • Staff
    • Board of Directors
  • Our Work
    • Local Food Access >
      • Gleaning
      • Closing the Hunger Gap with Local Food
      • Growing Food Connections
      • Feeding the 5000
    • Child Nutrition
    • Racial & Economic Justice
    • Food Policy >
      • End Hunger in Maine by 2030
      • 2021 Food Policy Forum
      • 2019 Food Policy Forum
      • 2017 Food Policy Forum
      • 2016 Food System Summit
    • Maine Food Convergence
  • Give
  • Get Involved
    • Jobs and Internships
    • Volunteer
  • Resources
    • COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Information
    • Food Resource Guides
    • Food Pantries
    • Meeting Minutes & Agendas
    • Historical Documents
  • Stay Connected
    • Contact
    • Public Calendar