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Nourish Nantucket to fund school pantries and run free summer meals from new Boynton Lane kitchen
Summary
Nourish Nantucket offered a donation to stock small pantries in each of the district's four schools and will operate a free grab-and-go breakfast and lunch program from a Boynton Lane kitchen during a six-week summer period; the program will begin nonprofit-funded with plans to seek federal reimbursements.
Meg Browers, executive director of Nourish Nantucket, told the Nantucket School Committee on April 14 that the nonprofit will donate funds to support small pantries in each of the district’s four schools and will operate a daily grab-and-go breakfast and lunch program from a new Boynton Lane kitchen during a six-week summer period.
"One out of three islanders experiences food insecurity and one out of two students in the public schools…qualify for free or reduced lunch," Browers said, explaining the nonprofit’s focus on feeding families with children. She said the summer program will be open to any child on Nantucket with no application or eligibility requirement and that meals will be prepared on-site by Nourish staff and volunteers.
Lori Richards, introduced as program manager, confirmed that meals will be cooked in the Boynton Lane commercial kitchen and that staff will package and hand out breakfast and lunch. "We will be cooking our prepared meals that we hand out to people of all ages on Tuesday nights out of that kitchen and then we'll be doing our summer student meals out of the Boynton Lane kitchen," Richards said.
Browers said the initial effort is nonprofit-funded to launch quickly this summer, with a plan to pursue federal reimbursement under USDA or other student-meal programs in the future. The group has sent a parent survey through district contacts to gauge demand, preferred times and meal types; district staff (Beth House and Katie) circulated the survey to families.
Superintendent Beth House thanked Nourish Nantucket for addressing a recurring summer-meals gap the district has struggled to fill, citing staffing limitations when the school food-service provider’s staff pursue other seasonal jobs. Committee members asked about logistics, USDA menu alignment and funding; Browers and Richards said they intend to follow USDA menu guidelines and will seek federal reimbursement if the program expands.
The committee welcomed the partnership and agreed to share the survey with families. Nourish Nantucket said pantry rollout and Boynton Lane programs will open in stages: the Nantucket Food Pantry will move into the Boynton building first, followed by pantry access and student meal distribution in the weeks after.
