Locally made organic food has been quite the craze in Eugene, a city known for its mom and pop style businesses. What’s even better is when a local company dedicates its work to a good cause.
GloryBee is a family owned, ingredient-production business that has dedicated its work to a Save the Bee initiative.
Honey bees are responsible for pollinating $15 billion worth of crops, and over 100 essential food crops for human consumption. The drastic decline in the numbers of bees has become a large concern for farmers across the nation.
GloryBee’s Save the Bee initiative began in 2012, and aims to directly impact organizations that are dedicated to saving the bee. One percent of their annual retail and bulk sales goes towards this initiative. GloryBee supports the Oregon State University Honey Bee Labs and Oregon Master Beekeeping Program, a company devoted to using service and education to improve the health of honey bee colonies.
Many local businesses have chosen to partner with GloryBee for their Save the Bee campaign. The list includes Attune Foods, Oakshire Brewing Company, Hot Cakes, Molly Moon’s Homemade Ice Cream Shops, Eugene Barre 3, Cupcake Royale and Pane D’amore.
GloryBee posts annual reports on their Save the Bee project on their website. You can go check out their 2014-2015 report here. On it, GloryBee has featured their financial goals for the initiative, a plan on how they want to achieve it and who they hope to sponsor.
GloryBee also has a separate “sustainability report” on their website, for other environmental related issues.
As described by founder Dick Turanski, GloryBee began as, “a simple family honey stand, farming honey in the backyard and processing it in the back of the garage,” Forty years later, the company is still family run with locally grown products.
At GloryBee, individuals can purchase honey, sweeteners, spices, dried fruits, nuts, oils, bee pollen and other ingredients. They also sell their own “HoneyStix” and “AgaveStix”, a perfect sweet energy boost that one can enjoy as a snack, a mix in for tea, or a yogurt or cereal topper.
GloryBee is located at 120 N Seneca Rd, Eugene, OR 97402. Make sure to check them out the next time you are in need of some sweet products. Buying locally grown food is a great way to support the city of Eugene, and while you are at GloryBee, you will also be doing your part in saving the bees.