The MaineHealth Food Pantry at Maine Medical Center provides healthy food to community members who are experiencing food insecurity. Our pantry is like a small grocery store where visitors can shop for free, high-quality food for their entire household. We prioritize fresh, local and culturally important foods as much as possible.
Making sure that everyone has access to nourishing food is an important part of the MaineHealth mission: working together so our communities are the healthiest in America. The food pantry is made possible through partnerships with community-based organizations such as Good Shepherd Food Bank.
Visit the Food Pantry
Our pantry is open on a walk-in basis. We do not take appointments.
- Hours: Thursdays, 10 am - 3 pm
- During stormy weather, please call 207-662-8842 to check hours.
- Address: 950 Congress St. Portland, ME
- Former Greyhound bus station at the corner of Congress and St. John
- Get directions >
- By Foot: A 10 minute walk from the Maine Medical Center Bramhall campus
- By Bus: Take METRO Route 1 to stop #140 at the corner of Congress and Gillman
- By Car: Free parking for pantry visitors at 950 Congress Street, Portland, ME (entrance is on St. John Street)
Our Impact: 2023 by the numbers
Volunteer Hours
133 care team and community members donated 1,300 hours of volunteer time.
Partnership
The pantry became Good Shepherd Food Bank’s 10th largest partner in Maine out of 660, based on amount of food shared.
Food Shared
We shared 688,000 pounds of food with the community.
Visitors
4,370 different households/patrons visited the pantry, representing 15,016 total individuals served. The pantry was visited 24,041 times in 74 total open days.
What is nutrition security?
Information & Resources
Do you need help finding healthy food in your community, applying for health coverage, accessing affordable medications, finding transportation or other social services? The MaineHealth Patient Assistance team can help. Call 1-833-644-3571 or email us at patientassistline@mainehealth.org.
- Cumberland County Food Pantries – Created by Good Shepherd Food Bank
- Food Resource Guide – Created by Wayside Food Programs and Portland of Opportunity
- Food Pantries in Greater Portland – Created by Preble Street
- Community Resources – Created by Wayside Food Programs
- Find a local farm that accepts WIC. The Portland Farmers Market, Alewives Brook Farm, Fresh Start Farms, Goranson Farm, and Olde Haven Farm all accept WIC.
- Earn bonus bucks when you purchase local produce with your EBT card at markets that participate in Maine Harvest Bucks, such as the Portland Farmers Market. For example, if you spend $20 with SNAP at a participating market, you will receive an extra $10 of Maine Harvest Bucks to spend at the market. That equals $30 worth of fresh, local food.
- Are you a Maine resident over 60 years old with a gross income of less than $25,142 per year? Then you may qualify for:
- Maine Senior Farmshare – a program that matches you with a local farm that will provide you with $50 worth of free produce. View a list of participating farms in Cumberland County.
- Commodity Supplemental Food Program – also known as Senior Boxes, is a federal program that provides nutritious supplemental foods to older adults. To sign up for Cumberland County, please apply through Wayside Food Programs.
- Maine Foodscapes builds raised garden beds for families struggling with food insecurity. Apply for a garden.
- Cultivating Community manages community gardens and urban growing spaces in Portland. Sign up for a garden plot.
- Fresh Start Farms offers farmer training and land access for immigrants, refugees and asylum-seekers at their Hurricane Valley location in Falmouth, Maine. Learn more.
Graphic provided by Cumberland County Food Security Council. View the complete 2022 Community Profile of Cumberland County.
Our Generous Donors & Sponsors
The inaugural work is supported through a $200,000 investment by MaineHealth, coming in part through funds set aside by MaineHealth’s Board of Trustees to honor long-term former CEO Bill Caron. A generous $100,000 donation from former Maine Speaker of the House and U.S. Senate candidate Sara Gideon is also funding this project. Thank you to our partner, Good Shepherd Food Bank.
Join us!
- Donate Funds: Please use our secure online form at mmc.org/foodpantry or contact development@mainehealth.org for other gift options.
- Donate Food: Please contact Wayside Food Programs. The MMC Food Pantry cannot receive food donations at this time.
- Donate Time: Register to volunteer with MaineHealth via VolunteerLocal.
Contact Us
Email: mmcfoodpantry@mainehealth.org
Phone: 207-662-8842