Our Story

Gather Nuts was founded in Bend in 2019 and quickly grew to be a local's favorite. Today we're shipping nuts across the country and expanding our retail reach throughout the Pacific Northwest. We frequently hear from our customers that they can feel the love we put into our products – it’s our secret sauce.

I love making and sharing nuts because of their nutritional benefits, but it's the taste and crunch that keeps people coming back for more!

Hello, I'm Shanna, founder of Gather Nuts. I'm a certified nutrition consultant and long-time plant-based aficionado. I started making activated nuts in my kitchen when I was in nutrition school – and soon, friends and family were encouraging me to sell them because "they are so good!"

I'm mainly from Texas, where my food influence centered around my mom's ranching family and my dad's family garden in Northern California. My dad influenced my love of cooking, while my mom's ranching family led me to my love of plant-based eating. In different ways, both influence how I choose to eat today.

I enrolled in nutrition school after my father fell suddenly ill and passed away from an undiagnosed cause. With a passion for healthy eating and attempting to fill the void of losing my dad, I searched for answers and found them in food. Nature offers us everything we need to live a healthy, vibrant life. Nuts provide a broad array of nutrients – and allow for on-the-go snacking, and can top off any meal with additional nutrients, flavor, and crunch.

Growing up, my family had a passion for the outdoors and did their part to lessen their impact on the planet. I'm pretty sure my dad was recycling before it was cool. He had a love for nature and the outdoors – and I, too, caught the "bug" at an early age. He instilled in me respect and awe for nature. I learned to do no harm and leave no trace early on in life.

My mom taught me kindness and compassion. It's something I embody every day. She also taught me to endure struggle gracefully. Starting a business is an all-consuming act of grit and passion. It's an unexpected road that unfolded before me, but one I can walk down thanks to her.

Eventually I left Texas and moved to the mountains of Colorado. I lived there for nearly 20 years before this Texas girl got tired of long cold winters and moved to Bend, OR – where it's "a little" warmer.

 

Our Process