Preserve taken from food cupboard, with cover (9)
I believe the answer is:
safeguard
'preserve' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'food cupboard with cover' is the wordplay.
'food cupboard' becomes 'safe' (historical container for meat).
'with' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'cover' becomes 'guard'.
'safe'+'guard'='SAFEGUARD'
'taken from' is the link.
(Other definitions for safeguard that I've seen before include "Preserve" , "Protect" , "Protective measure" .)