Nourish Nantucket and Remain Provide Supplemental Grocery Support for Island Residents This Winter
Nourish Nantucket has expanded its Grocery Card Program this winter to provide supplemental food support to 600 year-round island residents, including adults and children. This initiative offers direct grocery assistance to households experiencing food insecurity during the winter season, when income for many island workers becomes less predictable.
The expanded effort is being funded through Nourish Nantucket and Remain, whose support has made it possible to scale this program quickly in response to increased community need and the SNAP benefit freeze. “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.”
On Nantucket, 1 of 3 year-round residents live with food insecurity. This supplemental grocery support is designed to strengthen and complement Nantucket’s broader food access network. The grocery cards help fill critical gaps by offering flexible, choice-based, and low-barrier support for households who may not be able to fully utilize other programs. “These grocery cards are a huge help,” shared one participant. “Having the ability to shop for the groceries that my family needs is a huge relief.”
“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. ”
Nourish Nantucket’s mission is to create a food secure Nantucket, ensuring that all members of our community have the food they need to thrive. We empower our partners in food security by integrating existing food programs, centralizing outreach and fundraising, and employing data and robust systems.
About Remain:
Remain works to bring creative thinking to environmental and community challenges, elevate local industry and encourage innovation and resilience. Remain Nantucket engages in charitable work to support the evolution of a healthy year-round community across the island. Remain Ventures invests in buildings and mission-related businesses that strengthen Nantucket’s year-round economy and spark innovation that brings long-term value to the island’s residents. Both Remain Nantucket and Remain Ventures are funded by Wendy Schmidt and her husband Eric to support the local economy, community and environmental vitality of the island of Nantucket.
