Buzzing through the West
Jeff Brighton, brand manager for Honey Gardens, a bee company in Utah, is traveling through western U.S. in an RV through October with his co-worker, Gabe Lheron, to spread awareness about bee keeping. The duo stopped at Natural Grocers on Friday to hand out samples of honey and elderberry honey drinks. HANNAH NEFF/Press
Jeff Brighton and Gabe Lheron with Honey Gardens, a bee company in Utah, set up outside Natural Grocers on Friday to give away samples of elderberry syrup drinks and honey, the 4th stop on their 28 stop journey through 10 western states to spread awareness on bee keeping. HANNAH NEFF/Press
Jeff Brighton, left, brand manager for Honey Gardens, hands out elderberry honey drinks to Natural Grocers store manager Jon Bryntesen, right, and temporary assistant manager Leslie Reynolds-Townsend at the Coeur d'Alene Natural Grocers on Friday. HANNAH NEFF/Press
Honey Gardens employees took this vintage ’52 Chevy truck on tour with them across 10 western U.S. states to spread awareness about beekeeping and pass out samples of honey and wellness drinks. HANNAH NEFF/Press
Jeff Brighton, brand manager for Honey Gardens, hands an elderberry honey drink to Kerri Rush of Spirit Lake during the bee company tour stop at Natural Grocers on Friday. HANNAH NEFF/Press
COEUR d'ALENE - Five thousand miles, three months, two guys, one RV.
Why? To share their products and raise awareness of the beekeeping industry.
Jeff Brighton, brand manager for Honey Gardens, a bee company in Utah, said the journey is a bit of a tribute to beekeepers.
“We want to do it in a fun way that kind of honors what beekeepers do,” Brighton said Friday. “Beekeepers are kind of migratory. They travel with their bees, and so it’s pretty normal for beekeepers to live out of an RV for at least part of the year.”
Traveling from Utah, Brighton along with his co-worker, Gabe Lheron, cleaned off a vintage ’52 Chevy truck and loaded up a 30-foot RV with samples of honey and elderberry honey drinks to give out at each of their 28 stops throughout 10 states in the western U.S.
“We want to connect with people,” Brighton said. “Meeting people and kind of telling our story is my favorite part of what I do.”
Jon Bryntesen, manager of Natural Grocers, said the store invited the travelers to set up out front Friday as part of its three-day sale event, ending today, to celebrate the 66th anniversary of the store and birthday of late co-founder, Margaret Isely. With Honey Gardens being one of its largest vendors in the supplements department, Bryntesen said the timing worked out perfectly.
“Their products are amazing,” Bryntesen said, adding that he especially likes Honey Garden elderberry syrup. “It’s amazing what it does for you. I swear by this.”
Brighton said one issue he hopes the tour will help bring to light is the importance of bees in agriculture and the decline of beekeeping in the U.S.
“It's getting increasingly difficult for beekeepers to make a living keeping bees,” Brighton said. “There's many challenges that beekeepers face.”
According to a USDA-National Agricultural Statistics Service survey, the number of managed honey bee colonies has decreased from 5 million to about 2.66 million in the last 80 years.
Brighton pinpointed three key factors to the decline as poor nutrition, use of pesticides in agriculture and newly introduced pathogens and parasites.
“Two-thirds of the produce that people buy to eat in the grocery store is dependent upon bees and beekeepers to pollinate the crop,” Brighton said. “Bees are an important part of our agriculture and we need to be concerned about them.”
Brighton said that for every follow on social media, Honey Gardens will donate $1 to ongoing research for improving the health of honey bees.
The duo’s next stop is Natural Grocers on Division Street in Spokane before they head off to Seattle to complete the 6th checkpoint on their three-month journey to shops, fairs and festivals to spread awareness of beekeeping.
