The Nantucket Land Bank’s new agricultural processing facility at 19 Boynton Lane is now operational and accepting whole deer donations for MassWildlife’s Hunters Share the Harvest program, through which hunters can donate venison to those in need.

The Land Bank announced the opening of the facility last Thursday, four days into the state’s annual shotgun hunting season. The facility, run out of the basement of a new food security hub that will also play host to Nourish Nantucket and the local food pantry, is the first of its kind on the island, though there were smaller-scale efforts to donate venison in the past.

“With the growing deer population and heightened local concern, creating a processing site will help manage herd size while supporting food distribution for residents in need,” the Land Bank wrote in a statement. “Establishing a venison processing facility on Nantucket ensures MassWildlife’s Hunters Share the Harvest program can thrive locally.”

The project has moved quickly in recent months. The Land Bank and Nourish closed on the property in late October, and former Massachusetts Environmental Police Captain Dean Belanger was hired as venison processing manager less than two weeks later.