Nourish Nantucket, Remain Team Up To Expand Pre-Paid Grocery Cards

Nourish Nantucket has expanded a program offering direct financial assistance for purchasing groceries to cover 600 year-round Nantucket residents, with additional funding from Remain.

The program, which provides pre-paid cards that can be used to buy groceries, was scaled quickly in response to uncertainty around the federal Supplemental Nutritional Assistance program and what Nourish characterizes as increased community need.

“Access to healthy food is a year-round challenge for many of our neighbors, and winter can place even greater strain on household budgets,” said Meg Browers, executive director of Nourish Nantucket. “This expanded program gives families added flexibility and dignity in choosing the foods that best meet their needs. We’re grateful to Remain for their partnership in making this possible.”

The grocery cards are more flexible than most other programs aimed at combating food insecurity on Nantucket, as participants can choose which food to purchase, rather than being limited by prepared meals or the products in stock at the Food Pantry.

“Ensuring year-round access to healthy, affordable food is essential to sustaining a resilient community,” said Cecil Barron Jensen, Executive Director of Remain. “We are impressed by the quick action by Nourish Nantucket to respond to a pressing problem and pleased to be able to participate in such an impactful program.”

The expansion to the grocery card program comes as Nourish begins to ramp up a number of its efforts and moves into a new food security hub on Boynton Lane.