Charlie Sanford
"I have been involved in animal agriculture for many years. One thing that I love about beekeeping is that there are no fences. The bees are free to leave if they want to. It's our job to create a happy home for them and convince them to stay.
As a father of three little ones, our food supply concerns me. It is important to bring natural products to my table and its my mission to do the same for all of the products created at Honey Feast.
We will produce and purchase the best and cleanest American honey possible. And every jar you buy will be fit for my personal table."
Honey starts with nectar from the flowers. Bees travel to almost 3.5 million flowers to produce just one pound of honey.
Flowers bloom at different times. In order to catch the bloom of each flower hives are moved into yards located near the bloom.
Bees collect the nectar and pollen and pack it into cells inside the hive frames. They fan the nectar with their wings to reduce the moisture then cap the cell.
A fully capped frame weighs several pounds. There are several frames in each box or super.
The queen lives in the bottom box and is not disturbed during the honey harvest. We remove the entire upper supers to extract the honey.
The frames are uncapped and placed into an extraction machine. The frames are spun around to sling the honey out of the frames and into a tank.
The honey is then lightly strained to remove any bees or hive parts still in the honey from the extraction process.
The honey is then bottled while cold. This is called cold packing honey. It takes a long time but its the best way to preserve the enzymes and good stuff.
We bottle several different kinds of honeys. We also blend and create infusions. We hope you try them all and find your favorite!
Our Process
We are committed to natural & sustainable beekeeping. Our beekeepers are developing natural remedies to hive pests & viruses. We share our work with other beekeepers to promote the practice.
Wherever possible honey is produced from organic floral sources located in parks & preserves. These flowers are non GMO and are not sprayed with pesticides or fungicides.
We Cold Pack the honey & lightly strain it. It's harder to cold pack honey because it moves so slow. But this ensures all the enzymes are active and the good stuff is still in the jar waiting for you :)
Quality American Honey
Support local American farmers. It's better for the environment & local community.
We send honey & hive samples to scientists to make sure you're getting a clean product. From GMO's to pesticides we've got you covered.
Our bottling facility is 3rd party audited for Food Safety & Good Manufacturing practices.
"Bee Above It" Urban Beekeeping & Pollinator Garden Initiative
We are committed to saving the bees by creating awareness! When you buy a Honey Feast product, some of that profit is being put to our BEE ABOVE IT initiative.
- We have hive painting parties so the local community can feel connected to the hives.
- We partner with land owners in urban areas and place hives on their property.
- We install pollinator gardens around the bees to provide nectar. Not just for bees but for all pollinators.
- We treat the bees naturally and share our beekeeping practices with people that want to get involved.
- We share the excess honey harvested with the land owners.
- The whole project raises awareness of bees and natural beekeeping!