Food resources for people in Brunswick, Maine, and surrounding communities.
Last published update: Tuesday, April 28, 2020 10:00 am
Food Resource Guides
- Brunswick Food Resources
Brunswick School Department - Maine Farm and Seafood Products Directory
University of Maine Cooperative Extension and Merrymeeting Food Council - Connecting with Maine Communities During COVID-19
University of Maine Cooperative Extension - Food Pantry Schedule (Lincoln, Sagadahoc, and N. Cumberland Counties)
Mid Coast Hunger Prevention Program - Food Map
Good Shepherd Food Bank of Maine - Maine Food Atlas
Center for Community GIS
Free Food Schedule
Food Directory of Resources
Emergency Food Assistance
- The Salvation Army Bath-Brunswick provides food boxes and financial assistance (heating, utility, and rental / housing assistance) for individuals in need in Brunswick and all of MSAD 75.
nne.salvationarmy.org/bath
www.facebook.com/tsa.bathbrunswick.nne.use- Needs:
- Money
- Opportunities:
- Services:
- Please call ahead at (207) 443-3611 to confirm all services. Leave a message if necessary.
- Service area includes Arrowsic, Bailey Island, Bath, Bowdoin, Bowdoinham, Brunswick, Cundy’s Harbor, Five Islands, Georgetown, Harpswell, Orrs Island, Pejepscot, Phippsburg, Sebasco Estates, Small Point, South Harpswell, Topsham, West Bath, West Point and Woolwich.
- Food pantry is Mon, Wed, Thu 10 am to 1 pm.
- Social services (assistance for rental/housing, utilities, and heating) are Mon, Wed, Thu 9 am to 1 pm.
- Needs:
- Midcoast Hunger Prevention Program (MCHPP) provides hungry people with access to healthy food, operating a soup kitchen and food pantry in Brunswick.
www.mchpp.org
www.facebook.com/MidCoastHungerPreventionProgram- Info:
- Needs:
- Money
- Food donations
- Opportunities:
- Donate money: www.mchpp.org/donate/
- Donate food: drop off at 12 Tenney Way, Brunswick (behind Hannaford next to railway tracks) Mon-Sat between 8 am and 10 am or between 2 pm and 4 pm.
- Volunteer: very limited opportunities. Facility is no longer open to the public.
- Services:
- For details see www.mchpp.org/covid/
- Limited staff and volunteers. Facility is no longer open to the public.
- Facility is closed to public; food now distributed outside.
- To-go lunches, pre-packed food pantry boxes, delivery service.
- Mobile pantry in Harpswell is distributing premade boxes of food.
- Pickups: subject to change due to potential procedural changes from supermarkets and Good Shepherd Food Bank, but for now pickups are continuing as usual.
- Food Bank: also subject to change, but for now focusing on processing the most common food items that the majority of guests will be able to utilize, and will last the longest in household pantries. Volunteers are also helping to make boxes and bags of dry goods and produce (and toilet paper thanks to Bowdoin College) for guests.
- Food Pantry: running a drive-thru pantry out of the airlock. Guests drive to the back of the building, MCHPP collects basic information through the car window and then volunteers put boxes and bags of food (dry goods, produce, meat, eggs, dairy, and bread) directly into their cars. Anyone walking up will also get a box of food.
- Soup Kitchen: Volunteer teams prepare meals that MCHPP will serve to guests. Guests do not come inside, but instead serve themselves from a table outside the front doors. Volunteers and staff restock the table occasionally and explain the process to any questioning guests.
- Rena is working hard to make meals simple and volunteers are doing a lot of advanced prep work to make mornings easier. Volunteers are still helping Tuesday and Thursday afternoons and evenings with advanced food prep.
- Pantry to Pantry: Unfortunately, had to stop using household specific menus for Pantry to Pantry. However, clients are still receiving bi-weekly food boxes made and delivered by volunteers. Volunteers are trying to leave boxes outside of homes/apartments to minimize possible contagion.
- School Pantry: The last few weeks MCHPP packaged take home food for school districts to distribute to families! They’ve sent school districts a large supply of food and once MCHPP has a sense of procedural changes at Good Shepherd they will figure out how to continue providing food to students.
- Mobile Pantries: hosted both the Lisbon and Harpswell Mobile Pantries in March! Drive-thru style at both locations.
- Food Security Coalition: Sandi is continuing to support the local pantries with resources and information. Furthermore, MCHPP is still providing small pantries with rescued food.
Free Meals
- Brunswick School Department is distributing meals for children under 18 years old at ten locations in Brunswick.
www.brunswick.k12.me.us
www.facebook.com/Brunswick-School-Department-896342617067005- Services:
- Meals distributed Monday through Friday 9:30 am to 10:30 am.
- Perryman – Community Center
- Maplewood Manor – 2 Karen Lane Office
- Baybridge – Boats & Lots Storage
- Pegasus & Neptune – Tennis Courts Parking Lot
- Harriet Beecher Stowe – Front Bus Loop
- Atlantic Regional Federal Credit Union – Front Parking Lot on Cushing
- Bowdoin College Watson Ice Arena – Parking Lot
- Coffin Pond – Parking Lot
- Edwards Field – Parking Lot on Right
- Mid Coast Baptist Church – Parking Lot
- Services:
- Midcoast Maine Community Action is providing a meal program to serve children up to the age of 18 who are experiencing food insecurity at home during the COVID-19 pandemic.
midcoastmainecommunityaction.org
www.facebook.com/mmcacorp- Services:
- Grab-and-go style bags consisting of seven lunches and seven snacks for every child in a household are distributed on Fridays, 10 am to noon, at the Brunswick Head Start Center, 35A Gurnet Road, Brunswick.
- Meals are provided through the USDA Summer Food Service Program for children only.
- Children do not have to be enrolled in Head Start to be a recipient of this program.
- For MMCA’s Head Start families, pick-up will include extras such as produce, school supplies, toiletries, and special requests.
- MMCA’s meal sites will be open during school vacation week (April 20-24).
- Food delivery may be coordinated if volunteers are available; to inquire, please contact Head Start offices at (207) 442-7963.
- This program serves other communities besides Brunswick; see MMCA Provides Meals for Kids.
- Services:
- Pathway Vineyard Church provides a drive-thru meal on Tuesdays from 5 pm to 6 pm.
www.pathwayvineyard.com
www.facebook.com/PathwayBrunswick- Services:
- 2 Columbus Drive, Brunswick
- Every Tue 5 pm to 6 pm.
- Drive thru: meal will be delivered to your car.
- Services:
- Spectrum Generations’ dedicated volunteers and staff supply Meals on Wheels to communities throughout Kennebec, Knox, Lincoln, Sagadahoc, Somerset, and Waldo Counties, plus the towns of Harpswell and Brunswick in Cumberland County.
www.spectrumgenerations.org/nutrition-services/meals-wheels
www.facebook.com/SpectrumGenerations- Info:
- Needs:
- Money
- Opportunities:
- Donate money: Emergency Fund to support Meals on Wheels
- Services:
- Under new guidelines, more people now qualify for home-delivered Meals on Wheels. Anyone over the age of 60 who is practicing social distancing can receive meals throughout Spectrum Generation’s service territory.
- The Meals on Wheels program provides nutritionally balanced meals for homebound individuals 60 years of age or older and to persons with a disability who are unable to prepare a meal for themselves.
- Meals on Wheels are delivered to homes by volunteers and Spectrum Generations staff. This also provides an opportunity to check in on the meal recipient as a safety measure.
- To inquire about Meals on Wheels, Maine-ly Delivered Meals, or USDA Commodities Supplemental Food Program, call the Sagadahoc County (and Brunswick/Harpswell) nutrition coordinator at (207) 607-4406, or call the Brunswick Meals on Wheels Coordinator Casey Henson at (207) 729-0757.
Food Security
- Good Shepherd Food Bank is the largest hunger relief organization in Maine, partnering with more than 400 other organizations to distribute food to Mainers in need and leading a statewide effort to combat the root causes of hunger.
www.gsfb.org
www.facebook.com/feedingmaine- Info:
- Needs:
- Money
- Opportunity:
- Services:
- Good Shepherd Food Bank and its network of 450+ agency partners — including food pantries and meal sites — have been classified as an essential service. As the largest hunger-relief organization in Maine, the Food Bank will remain operational throughout the duration of Governor Mills’ Stay Healthy at Home Mandate.
- The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) provides food benefits based on income guidelines.
www.maine.gov/dhhs/mecdc/population-health/wic/index.shtml
www.facebook.com/WICmidcoastme- Services:
- All MaineCare Prior Authorizations should be emailed to <WIC.Maine@maine.gov> not faxed in.
- Services:
- The Human Services department of the Town of Brunswick handles applications for General Assistance for those who cannot pay for their basic necessities.
www.brunswickme.org/190/Human-Services
No Facebook presence- Services:
- General Assistance is based on eligibility requirements including number of people in the household, documented sources of income, and documented expenses.
- Schedule an appointment to begin the process of applying by calling (207) 725-6661.
- Services:
- Merrymeeting Gleaners are a hundred-strong volunteer group that harvests surplus food from local farms and distributes it to over 30 organizations.
www.merrymeetingfoodcouncil.org/merrymeeting-gleaners
www.facebook.com/MMGleaners
Grocery Stores in Brunswick
- Morning Glory Natural Foods is an independent grocery store specializing in local and organic food located on Maine Street in Brunswick.
www.moglonf.com
www.facebook.com/Morning-Glory-Natural-Foods-149416221756811/- Opportunities:
- Organize a weekly “shopping rotation”: one person shops for five families each week, takes orders and drops them off. This “neighbors to neighbors” system helps grocery stores be more efficient.
- Services:
- New policies effective Thursday, March 24.
- Maximum 10 customers in the store at once.
- Hours:
- Mon: 10 am – 6 pm
- Tue: 1 pm – 6 pm
- Wed: elderly and at risk only 9 am – 10 am
- Wed: 10 am – 6 pm
- Thu: 1 pm – 6 pm
- Fri: 1 pm – 6 pm
- Sat: 10 am – 6 pm
- Sun: CLOSED
- Curbside pickup:
- Email orders to <moglotogo@gmail.com>
- Include first and last name AND a working phone number in the subject line of your email.
- They will call for credit card info before they pick your order.
- Email orders received after 3:30 pm will go into the next day’s queue.
- They will substitute similar items when your first choice is out of stock unless you write “no substitutes” at the top of your order.
- All items are non-refundable and non-returnable.
- No special orders.
- Opportunities:
- Hannaford is a full-service grocery store in downtown Brunswick near the train station.
www.hannaford.com/customer-service/htg-coronavirus-updates
www.facebook.com/Hannaford/- Opportunities:
- Organize a weekly “shopping rotation”: one person shops for five families each week, takes orders and drops them off. This “neighbors to neighbors” system helps grocery stores be more efficient.
- Services:
- Hannaford To Go services suspended as of Thursday, March 19. Service will resume at the end of March.
- Beginning March 24: One hour on Tue, Wed and Thu — 6 to 7 am — will be reserved for customers 60 and over and customers identified by the CDC as being high-risk.
- Opportunities:
- Shaw’s is a full-service grocery store near Cook’s Corner in Brunswick.
www.shaws.com
www.facebook.com/Shaws- Opportunities:
- Organize a weekly “shopping rotation”: one person shops for five families each week, takes orders and drops them off. This “neighbors to neighbors” system helps grocery stores be more efficient.
- Services:
- Grocery Delivery with online ordering.
- Opportunities:
- Walmart is a full-service grocery and department store near Cook’s Corner in Brunswick.
grocery.walmart.com
www.facebook.com/walmart- Opportunities:
- Organize a weekly “shopping rotation”: one person shops for five families each week, takes orders and drops them off. This “neighbors to neighbors” system helps grocery stores be more efficient.
- Services:
- NextDay delivery is currently unavailable due to high demand.
- Starting Thursday, March 19, Walmart stores and Neighborhood Markets will be open 7 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. until further notice.
- Opportunities:
Markets and Convenience Stores in Brunswick
- 7-Eleven is the world’s first convenience store, with a franchise location in downtown Brunswick.
www.7-eleven.com/locations/me/brunswick/152-maine-st-32545
www.facebook.com/7ElevenBrunswick32545 - Big Apple Store, owned and operated by the Jones family-owned CN Brown Company, offers many products for convenience, with two locations in Brunswick.
cnbrown.com/big-apple
www.facebook.com/BigAppleFoodStores - Circle K is a convenience store and gas station offering a wide variety of products for people on the go, with one location in Brunswick.
www.circlek.com/store-locator/US/brunswick/39-bath-rd/M7102
www.facebook.com/Circle-K-338054903759651- Info:
- Cumberland Farms, acquired by EG Group in 2019, is a network of convenience stores.
www.cumberlandfarms.com/stores/me/brunswick-5620
www.facebook.com/CumberlandFarms- Info:
- Tess’ Market is a family-owned convenience store on Pleasant Street, best known for its extensive beverage selection, but also offering sandwiches and pizza.
No web site
No Facebook presence - Warmings Market was founded in 1946 and currently offers pizza, deli, beer, wine and other convenience items.
No web site
www.facebook.com/thedav73- Services:
- On April 2, owner Jason Davenport writes, “Hello to my amazing customers, friends and family. Here at warmings we are still open for business as we are an essential business that has been serving this community for 74 years, and I have no intention of changing that on my watch!! We still have all the essentials (eggs, TP, bread, milk, butter and of course yummy sandwiches and beer and wine! Thanks again for the support and hope to see as many as possible supporting us small businesses that are lucky enough to still be open.”
- Services:
Local Food (Farms and Farmers) available in Brunswick
- Brunswick High School Dragon Garden is the high school garden in Brunswick, making sustainable agriculture part of the high school culture by growing healthy food for the community using organic methods.
www.brunswick.k12.me.us/bhsdragongarden
www.facebook.com/groups/BrunswickDragonGarden- Needs:
- Money
- Opportunities:
- Donate money: $35 (suggested donation) make check payable to “Brunswick School Department” with “BHS Garden Program” on memo line. Mail to Brunswick School Department, Business Office, 46 Federal Street, Brunswick, ME 04011.
- Needs:
- Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust Farmers’ Market at Crystal Spring Farm is the largest farmers’ market in Brunswick.
www.btlt.org/farmers-market
www.facebook.com/brunswicktopsham- Info:
- So you can connect with all vendors at the farmers market, links are being kept up to date on the BTLT farmers’ market web page.
- Services:
- For information about the 2020 farmers’ market, email Jacqui Koopman <market@btlt.org>.
- Info:
- Brunswick Winter Market is the place to be in Brunswick on a wintry Saturday morning to find everything from food in the raw and locally produced goodies to unique and inspiring handmade products from over 40 local vendors.
www.brunswickwintermarket.net
www.facebook.com/Brunswick-Winter-Market-166596193367169- Info:
- Services:
- The winter market normally operates from November through April.
- Check their web site for current plans.
- University of Maine Cooperative Extension puts university research to work.
extension.umaine.edu
www.facebook.com/UniversityofMaineCooperativeExtension- Info:
- Connecting with Maine Communities During COVID-19
- Maine Farm and Seafood Products Directory
- COVID-19 Food Safety Information for Maine Consumers
- Learn at Home: Educational Resources to Use During School Closures
- Garden Chats: Growing Resilience from the Ground Up
- COVID-19 Information and Support for Maine Food Producers and Produce Growers
- COVID-19 Information and Support for Maine Farmers
- COVID-19 & Maine Agriculture FAQ
- Services:
- Buildings are closed until May 17; staff are working remotely.
- Info:
- Merry Meeting Kitchen is a new collaborative umbrella organization working to fulfill the Brunswick area communities’ food needs and wants.
merrymeetingkitchen.com
www.facebook.com/merrymeetingkitchen- Services:
- On-line portal for fresh produce, meat, dairy, cheeses and specialty goods produced in Mid-Coast Maine.
- Pick up and delivery available.
- Services:
- Merrymeeting Food Council is a forum for stakeholders in Maine’s Merrymeeting Bay area to collaborate to increase the production and consumption of local, healthy food.
www.merrymeetingfoodcouncil.org
www.facebook.com/MerrymeetingFoodCouncil
Restaurants
I am working on a Dining Guide for restaurants in Brunswick which will be published in a separate document. If you own a restaurant that is physically located in Brunswick, I would like to verify what we publish about your business. Please email me <fred.horch@gmail.com>
In the meantime, a selective list of restaurants is available in the BDA’s Business Updates: Pick-Up, Take-Out Offerings & Closures (Operation Pick-Up.).