GIY Organic Veg Box
Fresh. Organic. Nutrient Rich. Grown in Living Soil.
This is real food.
In GIY, we believe that healthy soil grows healthy food. And healthy food grows healthy people. The GIY Veg Box is full of real food grown in living soil. Not from chemical-dependent monocultures or from anonymous supply chains, but from organic growers you can trust.
Each week we pack a generous selection of certified organic vegetables from the GIY Farm at Curraghmore and from a small number of other organic Irish growers. Out of season in April and May, during the Hungry Gap months (more on that below) we source from trusted organic growers in the EU.
WHAT MAKES OUR VEG DIFFERENT?
GIY is a not-for-profit social enterprise with a mission to reconnect people to real food. All of the produce in our boxes is:
✔ Certified organic
✔ Grown in living, biologically active soil
✔ Free from chemical pesticides, herbicides and fertilisers
✔ Grown and harvested for flavour and nutrition so it tastes the way food should taste
HOW DOES IT WORK?
Sign up for a weekly box to follow the seasons through the year or buy a one off box when it suits. Boxes are €25 excluding delivery. Though we love the financial certainty that our regular subscribers give us, we also understand that you need flexibility, so you can pause or stop your subscription any time.
You can choose to get your GIY Veg Box delivered to your door (harvested and collected from the GIY Farm on Wednesday, delivered to you on Thursday) anywhere in Ireland or collect your box from GROW HQ in Waterford on a Saturday from 8am to 4pm.
Our approach is to get as close to zero packaging as possible. If you are collecting from GROW HQ your box comes in a crate which you return to us each week. We will rarely use plastic packaging inside the box, and if we do it’s only to keep leafy greens from wilting, and we ask you to please recycle the bag.
What’s In The Box?
Each week you’ll receive an abundance of fresh organic vegetables, fruit and herbs - we put 7-10 different items in your box with a little treat from GROW HQ. The contents change with the seasons - because that’s what real food does. Our job in curating the box is moving with those seasons, but also reacting in real time to changes in availability (often due to vagaries of the weather or unexpected developments at the farm!). Each week we also add to the box an update from the GIY Farm written by Mick.
So, yes, this is a very different experience to supermarket shopping - as a customer you are plugging in to the seasons and trusting us to curate a great box of real food for you each week. Our commitment remains constant: to provide you with the very best organic, nutrient rich, seasonal food grown in living soil.
Eating with the Seasons (and understanding the Hungry Gap)
Ireland’s growing calendar has a rhythm that we have to work with. From June to December your box will be mostly GIY Farm produce. That’s when the GIY Farm is at its most abundant. Early in the new year we move towards what growers call the “hungry gap” (from March to May) when winter crops finish, spring crops are establishing, and Irish harvests are naturally lighter. During those times we work with other Irish organic growers, and source organic veg from the EU for your box.
Here’s what that means for your Veg Box:
- Feb/March: we blend Irish organic produce and imported organic vegetables (EU)
- April & May: Greater reliance on organic produce from European growers
- June/July onwards: Irish organic abundance returns in full
WHY YOUR SUPPORT MATTERS
Most vegetables in supermarkets are grown in depleted soil, harvested early for transport, and bred for uniformity — not nutrition and flavour. Food grown in living soil contains more flavour, more complexity, and supports healthier ecosystems. When you choose a Veg Box, you are:
- Eating with the seasons = the most nutrient dense, delicious food
- Bringing more real, plant-based nourishment into your home
- Backing small scale, organic farmers and a social enterprise
- Supporting soil regeneration
- Reducing chemical load in the food system
If you’ve been following our work, you’ll know that the GIY Farm and the Veg Box is about way more than supplying veg for us. It’s about reconnecting people to soil and seasons, growing — and eating — again in a way that makes sense. This is how we rebuild connection with real food — one box, one meal, one GIYer at a time.
Why subscribe?
Value for Money.
The highest quality food grown to organic standards in a weekly subscription that won’t break the bank.
Flexibility.
Pause your subscription at any time if you’re going on holidays, and of course if you’re not happy you can easily cancel at any time.
Food Diversity.
Try a range of vegetables that you simply won’t get in a supermarket and varieties that are prized for their flavour.
Wonderfully Nutritious.
Because our food is grown to organic standards you know you are eating food that is at its most nutritious and without the climate change angst.
Reduced packaging.
Concerned about the amount of packaging in your recycling bin after your weekly shop? Yep, we are too. We will not use any plastic in our packaging except for keeping your greens from wilting (and we’re on the hunt for a solution to that too). For collections at HQ, the crate your veg is in gets reused each week.
Support our mission at GIY.
You are helping to support a non-profit Irish social enterprise that is trying to turn the tide in our food system, promoting home-grown, healthy and sustainable food at a time when our veg sector is on its knees.
Special Subscriber Benefits .
As a Veg Box subscriber you will be invited to special events at GROW HQ and at the GIY Farm during the year such as harvesting days and celebrations.
LARDER
While you're collecting your weekly GROW HQ Veg Box, why not check out Larder at GROW HQ, our food refill shop.
Bring your own containers (or we can provide compostable bags) and stock up on grains, nuts, oils, pastas, fresh sourdough breads, milk, cheese, and more.
As a Veg Box subscriber, you’ll get 10% off everything in Larder every week!
