By Annette Bowler
KENNEBUNKPORT – These words express the mission statement of a relatively new nonprofit begun in 2024 in Cape Porpoise by Jonathan Cartwright and Selena Roy, both experienced chefs.
Caring Community Cuisine succeeds in providing for the nutritional needs for cancer patients and their families, along with fostering personal interaction when volunteers deliver their meals. They and their staff presently prepare and deliver meals for 18 families within a 30-mile radius.
Interested families complete an extensive questionnaire to assess their eligibility and special needs. On Tuesdays the patients receive a proposed menu for Monday through Friday. On Sunday they submit their choices for the coming week, and on Tuesday the meals will be delivered to “The Warriors,” as CCC calls their clients.
The menus are comprised of input from the patients, their families, and their doctors. Complete confidentiality is assured. The food is provided free of charge with donations accepted. The chefs consider food allergies, food preferences and medication interactions. The most requested food is dessert. Comfort food such as short ribs, fish, and salad, as well as protein shakes, are popular requests. Many of the fresh vegetables are donated by the Dempsey Center Garden, which is another local nonprofit helping cancer patients, the West Kennebunk Community Garden, and Hannaford Supermarkets. Various local residents contribute flowers from their gardens to the meal delivery. The chefs source the rest of their ingredients from local purveyors.
The chefs divide their responsibilities equally. Cartwright handles the food and kitchen duties, while Roy handles the logistics of running the restaurant and the delivery of the meals. Caring Community Cuisine is incorporated as a nonprofit organization and is governed by a board of directors.
For the future, plans may be to teach culinary lessons to families and showing hospitals how to source ingredients, preferably from local farms. Caring Community Cuisine hopes to share their model by reaching out to similar nonprofit in other parts of the county.
The restaurant provides part of the funding for this endeavor by being open to the public on Sundays, Mondays and Tuesdays from 9 am to 2pm. It is also available to rent out for special occasions, meetings, parties, and other activities, with proceeds going towards supporting the nonprofit.
This August they are hosting a special dinner, a daily sweat class, and The Warrior Challenge, a bike, run, or walk fundraiser. Further information about Caring Community Cuisine and access to their newsletter can be had through their website: www.ccckport.org.
