Anonymous Donor Commits $1 Million to Nourish Nantucket

Nourish Nantucket announced today that it had received a second one-million-dollar gift from an anonymous donor. The individuals behind the donation hope the gift will encourage others to support Nourish Nantucket, which, in its two-year history, has worked to address food insecurity on the island.

Nourish stated the $1 million gift will help support its various programs including Student Summer Meals, Weekend Food Backpack, and its ability to provide grocery cards for families in need. The organization stated that one in three year-round Nantucket residents experiences food insecurity, and that there are more than 1,200 Nantucket residents still on the waitlist for grocery cards alone. The non-profit stated in its announcement that it estimates the need to raise an additional $5 million to satisfy food support demand on Nantucket

“The fact that yet another family has made a million-dollar gift to Nourish Nantucket validates the importance of this initiative and is a tremendous vote of confidence for Nourish Nantucket itself as an organization,” said Bruce A. Percelay, board member of Nourish Nantucket.

“Last year, Nourish Nantucket provided over $1 million in funding to our food partners who provide a wide range of food programming to the island, and this coming year, it is our hope to double that amount”, said Meg Browers, Executive Director of Nourish Nantucket. “In the spirit of the most recent $1 million gift, Nourish Nantucket is asking island residents, seasonal homeowners, foundations, and businesses to maximize the impact of this gift by making additional donations to our ongoing effort.”

“There is a huge need on Nantucket, and there is also massive capacity,” said the family that made the $1 million donation. “I’m not sure there is anything more important on the island right now than making sure families have enough to eat.”

Over the last two years, Nourish Nantucket, along with the Land Bank, has established a permanent home for the Nantucket Food Pantry and Nourish Nantucket’s own programs at the new Community Food Hub facility on Boynton Lane, which houses Nourish Nantucket’s offices but also includes the Land Bank's venison processing facility that provides quality protein to island families while also helping solve the island’s deer population problem.

Disclosure: Bruce Percelay is a Nourish Nantucket board member and the publisher of Nantucket Current.