It seems that a new movement towards hyper-local honey may be buzzing around the country.
In Cincinnati, the downtown Hilton Netherland Plaza and the Kingsgate Marriott have started sourcing honey from their “urban hives” and using it in the hotels’ restaurants and catering services. The hives are harvested on the roof of the hotels where bees travel approximately three miles around the surrounding area to find nectar.
“These hives are part of a larger beekeeping movement that’s an outgrowth of the local-foods movement. In New York (where beekeeping only recently became legal), Los Angeles, San Francisco and other cities, amateur beekeepers tend their hives on roofs and in backyards,” reports USA Today.
At this point, the idea of harvesting urban hives is fairly new, so it’s unclear exactly how well these bees will fare in a booming metropolis. Hopefully the movement will stir awareness among communities about the importance of protecting their precious bees who in turn pollinate the leafy greens and vitamin-rich crops we locavores love.
Interested in the whole urban beekeeping hype? Check out this cool class sponsored by the Brooklyn Coalition on May 19th at the Green Thumb in NYC.
Photo by: Sweetsofa/Flickr