For many seasonal travelers, Martha’s Vineyard appears the epitome of an affluent Island, but many Islanders face a growing food insecurity made more dire by record inflation and a worldwide pandemic.

Nonprofits that feed hundreds of hungry Islanders every week are facing unprecedented reductions in supplies of groceries, at a time when the need is growing. Staffing shortages at the Greater Boston Food Bank are one issue.

At the Island Food Pantry, operations manager Sharon Brown teaches people how to stretch 15 cents to create a dollar's worth of food in a meal.

Growing up in Edgartown, what chef Amy Johnson looked forward to most on Christmas Day wasn’t opening presents. “The food was more impressive than the gifts,” she recalled.

A community food drive hosted by the Martha’s Vineyard Agricultural Society Saturday collected over 1,00 pounds of food and household items.

From noon to 5 p.m. April 10, the Martha’s Vineyard Agricultural Society is gathering contributions for the Island Food Pantry.

At a grand opening Saturday afternoon, leaders at the food pantry and Island Grown Initiative gave tours of the new facility at the Portuguese American Club in Oak Bluffs.

In response to rising demand and space needs, the Island Food Pantry will relocate from its longtime home at the United Methodist stone church to the Portuguese American Club, effective Feb. 22.

Two key Martha’s Vineyard nonprofits, Island Grown Initiative and the Island Food Pantry, announced this week that they will merge in 2021.

Since mid-March, the Island Food Pantry has provided Islanders in need with the groceries for nearly 100,000 meals, according to numbers released by the pantry.