CUMBERLAND COUNTY FOOD PANTRIES & LOCATIONS

Please go to Wayside Food Program's Community Resource Page for updated information on Cumberland County's food pantries. 

"EMERGENCY" FOOD SYSTEM
​What we call our country’s “emergency” food system consists primarily of food banks, food pantries and soup kitchens. A food pantry hands out packages of food direct to people in need. If an establishment offers hot meals, then they are often called a soup kitchen. Food banks usually provide a warehouse function for pantries, kitchens and other aid agencies like after school programs and senior centers. Maine has one food bank; Good Shepherd Food Bank, which provides food to over 400 organizations.

Emergency food aid has become “the new normal” for low-income families in financial crisis. Food pantries have become the default option as poor people are forced to rely on the charity of others when access to adequate income does not allow them to put food on their table. While people who organize pantries often do so with great commitment and sacrifice, they will testify that this emergency food distribution network has not been able to stall the steady increase of poverty. It is neither a sustainable nor a comprehensive solution to meeting the needs of hungry people.

While our Council supports the network of 50 or so pantries in Cumberland County (noting that a few operations open and close each year), we agree that these should be viewed as a temporary solution. Our nation and our communities must organize our economies to achieve the goal of consistent access to nutritious food that is each person’s right.

Read more on Food Pantries here.

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Portland Community Food Resource Guide 
Below is printed flyer that was distributed (in 8 languages) to every student in Portland Schools.
Please share this tool widely to help connect families with the food they need. 

foodresourceguideprint.pdf
File Size:	141 kb
File Type:	pdf

Download File

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