The Captain’s Cupboard is a food pantry accessible to all SMCC students. tucked in a small building by the Spring Point Tavern, the tight-knit community of volunteers always welcomes new students looking for anything from a quick snack before class to ingredients for a wonderful home-cooked meal. 

While the Captain’s Cupboard is most known for providing foodstuffs to the community, they’re working hard to improve that function and integrate more community services into the SMCC ecosystem. One way they’re doing this is by giving free cooking classes on Wednesdays for students to learn to make meals and then take them home for their enjoyment. 

The Captain’s Cupboard’s manager, Ellen Culberson, is working hard to spearhead these projects. “We have doubled the amount of fresh, whole food we offer weekly through a partnership with the South Portland Food Cupboard,” said Culberson,” The Opportunity Alliance has offered SNAP education cooking classes/nutrition education, and we will also host a MaineCare/SNAP sign-up clinic in partnership with the Advocacy Resource Center in March.” With these additions and much more to come, the Captain’s Cupboard is gaining tremendous popularity compared to how much they have had in previous years. 

While programs at our school all do a great job of contributing to the community, there are none quite like the hard work done at the Captain’s Cupboard. If you are interested in any of their programs or just want to pick up some of the many goods they have inside. Look for their hours at “Captain’s Cupboard” on Facebook.