Nourish Nantucket Receives Anonymous $1 Million Gift To Fight Food Insecurity

Nourish Nantucket has received an anonymous $1 million donation to fund immediate food access for island residents.

The gift, which would singlehandedly cover a third of Nourish Nantucket’s entire $3 million campaign for the 2025 fiscal year, is expected to have a significant impact on Nantucket’s food insecurity crisis.

“We're interested in funding existing programs, clearing waitlists, and exploring possible new programs,” said Meg Browers, Director of Development and Operations at Nourish Nantucket. “This donation is specifically to help feed more people now - getting food to those who need it most, without delay. We’re beyond grateful for this extraordinary act of generosity and the trust it represents in our mission.”

Existing estimates suggest that around one in five island residents struggles to afford food, a crisis that may be about to get even more severe if the Nantucket Food Pantry isn’t able to find a new home before its lease expires in April.

While the funds from this gift won’t be used to purchase a new facility, securing a long-term home for the food pantry remains one of Nourish Nantucket’s primary goals.

“This gift was given in a restricted capacity, so it is for food and food only,” Browers said. “That being said...we've been working hand-in-hand for the better part of eighteen months with the food pantry to find a location.”

Instead, the money from the gift will go toward providing food to Nantucket residents immediately.

“Nourish Nantucket has requested proposals from its food security network partners, including the Nantucket Food Pantry, and expects to award multiple grants of $50,000+ within the next week,” the statement reads in part.

Nourish hasn’t chosen specific projects yet, meaning it isn’t immediately clear how the funds will be spent, but the non-profit partners with several local food insecurity projects, and also plans to launch some pilot programs of its own.

“We are going to pilot a couple programs. We're going to pilot a meals program, we're going to pilot a childhood hunger supplemental weekend program this fall,” Browers said. “We now have an opportunity to try out a couple of programs that will fill gaps that have previously been unfilled.”

It isn’t yet certain if the funds from the $1 million anonymous donation will be used to support these projects.

“Receiving a $1 million gift is an enormous vote of confidence for what we are doing and will hopefully inspire others to give," said Nourish Nantucket creator and advisory council chair Bruce Percelay. "We are now in a position to move the needle in managing the food insecurity issue on the island, but our ultimate goal is to end hunger here permanently, which will require broad island support."

The gift will be dispersed over four years, with the most significant impact occurring this year.

“This gift is proof that people are interested in taking care of each other,” Nourish Nantucket board member Trish Vanacore said. “Food insecurity affects more people here than many realize. We have a chance - and a responsibility - to show up for our neighbors.”

Nantucket’s food insecurity crisis has drawn increasing attention in recent years. Nourish Nantucket, founded in 2024, is part of the new wave of programs aimed at combating food insecurity on-island, which range from in-depth analytical studies to expanded deer hunting and have drawn the attention of organizations from the New York Times to the Nantucket Cottage Hospital.

Disclosure: Bruce Percelay is the publisher of Nantucket Current and N Magazine.