Preparations are underway for the Nantucket Food Pantry to move to a new location in April and become part of a new, shared facility for organizations working on food security.
Tentatively called the Nantucket Food Hub, the building will house the food pantry, a kitchen for prepared meals, and processing of donated venison.
Some 500 pounds of meat have already been distributed from the deer-processing facility in the basement run by the Nantucket Land Bank.
Renovation of the first floor for the pantry should begin soon, said Brooke Mohr, board president of the nonprofit Nourish Nantucket.
“We're really, really thrilled that it's coming to fruition for the community,” she said. “It's amazing.”
The Nantucket Land Bank and Nourish Nantucket bought the Boynton Lane building for $6.5 million last year.
They’ve applied for permits to renovate the first floor, Mohr said.
“It's mostly interior renovations and bringing the space for the pantry up to health code,” she said. Changes will include new flooring, walls to customize the layout, new refrigeration, and shelving.
Compared to the old pantry location, the facility will have more square footage and parking. It’s near the elementary and intermediate schools and a bus stop.
“It's a really great, central location,” Mohr said.
Nourish Nantucket and the Nantucket Interfaith Council, the parent organization of the food pantry, will have offices in the building, she said.
She said island organizations also hope to increase the repurposing of unused food from restaurants and markets, a process known as food rescue.
