The anticipation of the holidays and upcoming finals could leave any student in need of something sweet.
The perfect way to satisfy that sweet tooth could be a taste of honey from the 13th annual Honey Sale hosted by the Honey Bee Laboratory of the Ohio State Agricultural Technology Institute at Wooster.
“We try to offer high-quality honey products in order to expose our customers to the diversity of honey as a food. The Honey Sale gives us an opportunity to let our customers explore new products,” said Bee Lab facility coordinator Sherry Farrell.
The sale is visiting Columbus to tempt the OSU campus with tasty items such as candy, mints, honey straws, creamed honey and comb honey. Other gift items include ornaments and beeswax candles. All proceeds benefit the Honey Bee Lab located at the Wooster campus, and from the early interest shown, the lab seems to be on track with this year’s sale.
“We were concerned before the first week’s sale that interest might be lower than last year due to the economy, but that was not the case,” said Jim Tew, who is responsible for the overall operation of the lab. “Since the first week went so well, we have reason to feel good about the second week.”
Proceeds from the sale benefit the lab’s operating budget, with money going toward truck repairs, bee equipment, honey sale components, computer equipment and other supplies.
The lab has seen continued success with the sale, both from new buyers and returning customers who come back each year for more of the saccharine confections.
“Due to the high turnover, most of our customers are new. However, we have a loyal group of return customers in the faculty and staff population that come to us each year,” Tew said.
A loyal group of faculty and staff are return customers each year, Tew said.
“I bought some honey and candy from the sale before I went home for Thanksgiving, and my family loved it. I’ll definitely be going back to pick up a few more things to give as gifts because I won’t have much time for shopping,” said Shawn Mincks, a senior in finance and accounting.
Research projects at the lab include work on hybrid soybean pollination, exploring new compounds for predaceous mite control within the hive and determining pollinators of deciduous holly, Tew said. The lab is collaborating with the United States Department of Agriculture Germ Plasma Center by providing bees for the organization’s pollination requirements.
The lab maintains about 150 to 200 hives and works primarily with honey bees, but also has projects involving leafcutter and bumble bees, Farrell said.
The Honey Sale continues this week at various campus locations and will culminate at the Hidden Benefits Fair at the French Field House on Dec. 11 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
