Shy By Nature is expanding the reach of its delicious organic veg boxes

Organic market garden enterprise Shy By Nature Farm is expanding its veg box delivery range to more corners of Donegal. 

And with the farm now certified organic and summer vegetables ripe for the picking, there has never been a better time to sign up. 

Shy By Nature is a farm with a difference. Situated in Inver and run by brothers Ronan and Gareth McNern along with a team of volunteers, the ethos is to provide sustainable, organic produce while allowing people to get hands-on with the land.

Various price points mean that those who can afford to pay a little more can subsidise those who are struggling, thus making this high quality, freshly harvested local food available to more people. 

The bulk of the food contained in the weekly veg boxes is grown on the farm in Inver, while there are also carefully sourced additions and optional add-ons. 

The organic veg boxes come in three sizes. The small box contains five to six portions which feeds one to two people. The medium box has seven to nine portions, feeding two to four people, while the large box contains 10 to 11 portions, feeding three to four people.

Customers have the option of weekly or fortnightly boxes which are delivered to drop-off points in Donegal Town, Killybegs, Ardara and Glenties, with the service now expanding to Letterkenny, Ballybofey and Stranorlar. 

Letterkenny native Ronan is now in his third season of producing veg boxes on the farm where his father’s family grew up, and he is delighted with how Shy By Nature is growing and reaching more and more customers. 

“It is a great feeling to be bringing organic veg to my hometown of Letterkenny, where I grew up and where my parents and brother's family live,” he said. 

“And a thank you to all who have supported us - friends and family, collection point hosts, volunteers and customers.”

Those who sign up for veg boxes can do so at one of four price points - low, medium, high or highest. There is also an option to donate a box to the Bluestack Special Needs Foundation.

"The veggies and salads from Shy By Nature are fabulous - very fresh, and they give a lovely variety of produce each week,” commented one of the recipients of the sponsored boxes.

“I was so grateful to receive the box, it meant a great deal to my family and me. It was kindly and generously donated to us via the Bluestack Foundation in Donegal Town. Any reduction in food costs helps week to week as prices soar - such a blessing. Thanks to both the Bluestack and the person who donated it. Lastly, I'm really pleased to hear that Shy By Nature is now 100% organic."

Boxes can be paused for holidays, or temporarily redirected to the Bluestack Special Needs Foundation. 

The veg boxes are being very well received across south and south-west Donegal. The expansion of collection points is a fantastic opportunity for more people to discover for themselves just how delicious this high quality, locally grown produce tastes.

Ronan and the team at Shy By Nature believe that getting closer to nature and partaking in the process of growing vegetables leads to better emotional wellbeing. It also fosters a greater understanding of - and therefore a desire to care for - the environment. 

They have therefore opened up the farm for regular volunteer days so that people can come and experience the process for themselves. 

“Volunteering at the farm is coming together with others to do something that matters,” said Catherine Weitbrecht from Donegal Town, who has been volunteering at Shy By Nature three years, and who taught Ronan how to side shoot cucumbers correctly. “You get to meet great people, eat delicious lunches, get clayed fingernails and leave with an all-around feeling of a day well spent.”

More information on how to sign up for veg boxes and on upcoming volunteer opportunities can be found at www.shybynaturefarm.ie

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