Chef Selena Roy opened Caring Community Cuisine this month with the mission of helping cancer patients and their families. Contributed / Selena Roy

Chef Selena Roy has been active in the volunteering community since her return to Maine several years ago. As a local restaurateur, Roy has hosted countless dinners for the Dempsey Center and has volunteered frequently with the American Legion.

But recently, Roy started feeling like that wasn’t enough. She wanted to do more for her community.

Alongside business partners Jonathan Cartwright and Ben Fraser, Roy began brainstorming ideas. Early this month, the trio, who are known for operating local favorite, Musette, opened Caring Community Cuisine (CCC) in Cape Porpoise.

“CCC is our brain child,” Roy told the Post. “We discovered there is a deficit as far as nutrition and food treatment for people with cancer.”

The mission of CCC, Roy said, is to provide family nutrition and family interaction for those battling cancer.

With roots in catering, Roy wanted to create a meal service catered directly toward individuals battling cancer. She learns their likes and dislikes, and what they might be lacking in nutritional treatment, and creates a fully-customized menu geared toward helping them heal.

The goal, she said, is to alleviate some stress from cancer patients and their families.

“Hopefully, they’ll have more strength to fight cancer, but also they’ll have more mental strength,” Roy said. “They won’t have to worry about what their family is going to eat because we took care of it.”

Selena Roy, Jonathan Cartwright, and Ben Fraser opened Caring Community Cuisine early this month. Contributed / CCC

Caring Community Cuisine is not only a catering service – the cafe, located on Pier Road, is open to the public every Monday through Wednesday from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. serving breakfast, lunch, and brunch.

The menu mimics what CCC provides for families each week. This week, the chosen family needs more potassium in their diet, so the cafe has items like chickpea salad and roasted brussels sprouts on their menu.

But they always have fan-favorites as well, including Roy’s famous blueberry pancakes served with Maine maple syrup, and a haddock sandwich made with locally caught fish.

Both items are gluten free. In fact, the entire menu is.

“But you can’t really tell,” Roy said.

The conscious decision to keep everything gluten free was made in part because of the idea that ingredients like corn and flour can be ultra-processed, Roy said.

Essentially, the menu is built on health and good food — and people are enjoying it already.

Kennebunkport resident John Nicklaus said he has already visited CCC for both breakfast and lunch, and each experience was “delicious.”

“I can’t wait to go back again and again,” Nicklaus told the Post. “Amazing, friendly service, and all for an amazing cause helping individuals and families battling cancer.”

Although CCC is still in the process of receiving its 5013C, it is truly a nonprofit. All proceeds go directly to cancer patients and their families.

“We see it as a pay-it-forward,” Roy said. “You’re having a meal, but you’re also providing for other families.”

In the cafe’s first month, Roy said she has already seen an outpouring of support from the Cape Porpoise community.

“Cape Porpoise is so beautiful in the community aspect,” Roy said. “You get to know people, and it’s crazy how many people have been supportive.”

As the holiday season approaches, Roy is feeling grateful to continue the CCC mission and excited for all that is to come.

“Maine communities really just shine,” she said.