Food Pantry

FOOD PANTRY

Too many Mainers are experiencing food insecurity. One in five children in the county is food insecure, and people of color continue to be among the hardest hit by food insecurity. 

Each month, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) helps 170,000 Mainers and 42 million Americans put food on the table. Nearly 75% of Maine’s SNAP households include at least one working adult, more than half include a person with a disability, 43% include an older adult, and over one-third include children. While programs like the Preble Street Food Security Hub and food pantries are here to support people experiencing food insecurity, they cannot come close to replacing the food supply and dollar value that SNAP provides. For every meal that food banks provide, SNAP supplies nine.  
 
The Preble Street Food Pantry, located inside the Preble Street Food Security Hub, plays a key role in combating food insecurity in our community, providing approximately 20,000-30,000 nourishing meals to hundreds of families and individuals each month.  For each family, the Preble Street Food Pantry provides a box filled with fresh, healthy, and culturally appropriate food, in addition to non-perishable staple foods like rice and canned foods. 

Almost all of the food distributed through the Food Pantry comes from USDA government surplus commodities; is donated by local retail and wholesale distributors, farms, and bakeries — including Whole Foods, Hannaford, Trader Joe’s, Jordan’s Farm, and Tandem Coffee Roasters; comes from our partner Good Shepherd Food Bank; or is collected in food drives by the faith community, schools, organizations, and businesses. 

Preble Street is not alone in our community in providing pantry services, and there are numerous other local pantries serving people experiencing problems with homelessness, housing, hunger, and poverty, including St. Luke’s Cathedral, Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Project FEED, Presente! Maine, Salvation Army, and many more. Please check online for dates and times that these services are open.

Additionally, caseworkers from many different agencies, including The Opportunity Alliance, Spurwink, Shalom, Day One, Portland Housing Authority, Avesta, and more access food boxes from Preble Street – if you are working with a caseworker from a local agency, please connect with your caseworker if you need a food box.

Good Shepherd Food Bank also offers a helpful map of pantry resources at https://www.gsfb.org/get-help/food-map/.

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When and where to donate:

Funds

Every $1 donated allows us to purchase $7 worth of food. Make a gift at preblestreet.org/donate. 

Food

Food Security Hub
75 Darling Ave, South Portland
Pantry Entrance (left side of the building)
7 days a week: 9am-3pm

Most needed items:

  1. Jelly All flavors, smaller jars preferred 
  2. Hearty soups Progresso, Amy’s,  Chicken noodle or chicken with rice are favorites, but a variety is welcome! Pull top lids are always appreciated 
  3. Hearty stews Beef stew, chili with meat, chili without meat, vegetarian, and vegan stews 
  4. “Fun” cereal All Kinds, all sizes 
  5. Oatmeal especially microwaveable and flavored packets 
  6. Pasta sauce in jars or flip top cans 
  7. Peanut butter 
  8. Hot chocolate packets 
  9. Ensure protein shakes (requested by older adults and recuperative care patients)  
  10. Soft granola bars & breakfast bars (Nutri-grain and other brands without nuts for people with dental issues, nut allergies, and for young children) 
  11. Canned fish and meat Tuna, Chicken, Vienna sausage, and Spam, pull top cans are always appreciated 
  12. Snack items for toddlers and children, microwave popcorn, packaged nuts, granola bars with nuts, chocolate covered raisins/almonds, yogurt covered raisins/almonds 
  13. Rice  
  14. Pasta All kinds are appreciated 
  15. Juice All flavors, any brand  
  16. Cheese American and Cheddar are most requested; other hard cheeses are enjoyed 
  17. Chocolates in individual and family sizes 
  18. Ground coffee Regular and flavored 
  19. Baked beans & black beans in cans Pull top lids preferred 
  20. Pancake mixes in boxes or cans 
  21. Condiments Salad dressings, mustard, mayonnaise, ketchup, salad oil & vinegar 
  22. Pickles All kinds  

Food pantry recipes

Click here for Preble Street Recipes page, which outlines recipes using shelf-stable ingredients found in found boxes.