Manna is a Kilcullen hidden treasure

David Moore, Patsy Ann Farrell, Siodhna Kavanagh and Siobhan Dunlea.

It has been around some two decades, and is well known by those who know it, if you know what I mean, writes Brian Byrne. But in some ways the Manna Organic Shop on the Bridge Community campus is one of Kilcullen's secret treasures.

Tucked away behind the Weavery, you need to know about it before becoming a customer. But if you are seriously into having your food organically-produced, and your household cleaners and personal toiletries eco-friendly, then you'll find your way there sometime if you are living in or near Kilcullen.

All the vegetables in Manna come from organic sources, in many instances from the community's own farm and gardens located opposite the shop. So at the moment, the broccoli is a favourite though getting scarce. Lots of lovely cabbage at the moment, and the potatoes for the late autumn are going to be very plentiful soon. The fresh eggs are a big attraction, but the hens are slowing down, so you have to be quick and a regular customer to know when to snag a half dozen.

"We also get supplies from Kilruddery, beyond what is available from our own gardens after the community's own needs are sorted," says Patsy Ann Farrell, who currently manages the Manna operation with the very experienced help of community residents Siodhna Kavanagh — "I'm here 19 years" — and David Moore. "The good thing about that is if a customer wants something that we don't stock, we can order it on a Tuesday and it will be in on a Friday. We build up our customer base that way, because they tend to return."

Whichever the source, and that includes the Grangebeg Farm Camphill community near Dunlavin, all the fruit and vegetables are Irish or European. "Except the bananas, which come from the Dominican Republic," David Moore notes. For the Bridge Community's own vegetable gardens, resident Siobhan has long been the 'anchor', making sure that what is grown and harvested is of top quality. "I'm doing it too long," she grumbles, but not very convincingly.

Patsy Ann also appreciates the sociability of the shop, where there is always a spare chair for any customer who wants to have a chat. "I used to work in the An Tearmann cafe here, but it was so busy that there was never time to actually talk to people. Now we have lots of people who aren't in any rush away after they have picked what they want."

And that's another area where Manna scores over the likes of big supermarkets. Everything is 'pickable'. If someone just wants to gather his or her fruit and vegetable needs for the day ahead, they can do so. "Sometimes that means people on their own will come out to the shop several times a week, which is good for them too."

Everybody who comes in smiles. Not least because Siodhna and David, and Siobhan if she happens to be in the shop, are smilers. The good vibe is infectious, and that alone is as good a tonic for the day as is the organic produce on the shelves. The Biblical origins of the name is about something like that, too.

This article was first published in The Kildare Nationalist.