Honey Co-op Buzzing
in Chicago
Urban farming co-op also provides job training for former inmates, others
By Kellen M. Henry
Editor’s note: This article is provided
courtesy Medill News Service at
Northwestern University.
cracked and overgrown
concrete slab on an
economically depressed
block of Chicago’s west
side wouldn’t seem like
an appealing place to put down roots.
But to urban beekeeper Michael
Thompson, the deserted stretch of a
former Sears Roebuck and Co. parking
lot held the promise of sweet returns.
Over the past seven years, the
Chicago Honey Co-op has become one
of the largest urban apiaries in the
country, while fostering community
engagement and job training for
residents of the economically distressed
North Lawndale neighborhood. It
hasn’t always been easy for the co-op to
fulfill its mission and turn a profit —
especially in the unpredictable climate
of northeastern Illinois — but
Thompson is quick to credit strong
support from the community for the
co-op’s survival.
Chicago Honey is a comparatively
small operation. While most beekeepers
rely on about 300 hives to support
themselves financially, the co-op “bee
farm” had about 80 producing hives last
summer. The average hive yields about
40 pounds of honey beyond what the
bees need each season, but some hives
can produce much more — or nothing
at all.
“We pretend to know what’s going
on, but everything sort of happens to
us,” Thompson said in August, six
weeks into the summer harvest. “It’s
been delicious. I think we’ll have a full
crop, but it remains to be seen how the
fall crop will be.”
Chicago Honey had an ample
summer harvest, but it wasn’t quite as
bountiful as Thompson — a perpetual
optimist — had hoped for. The
unusually cool summer meant a longer
nectar flow, but frequent rains also
caused the bees to stay inside more.
The co-op, which has about 35
members, sells its honey at a number of
Chicago farmers markets, in addition to
local stores, restaurants and on the
Internet. Through its website, the coop
charges $9 for 12-ounce jars of its
honey, with bath-product packages
ranging from $10 to around $50.
The co-op had sales of about
$60,000 in 2007 and it estimates that it
made about the same in 2008, thanks to
about $30,000 in grants and donations.
“What we’re supported on is
amazingly low,” says Sydney Barton, a
co-op member who helps with the coop’s
business and marketing efforts. “A
lot of small businesses might have
better access to capital, but — partly
because of our setup and mission — we
don’t have more traditional lenders or
investors interested.”
Lost hives hurt production
In 2008, the co-op lost several hives
during the summer season, reducing the
amount of honey it had for the year.
The hive failures weren’t because of
Colony Collapse Disorder, which
caused an abrupt disappearance of bees
in many parts of the nation last year.
However, the co-op said publicity about
the colony collapses drew local
attention to its hives and the
importance of bees in crop pollination
(crops as varied as apples, almonds,
carrots and alfalfa depend on bees for
pollination).
Chicago Honey promoted its candles
and body-care products to make up for
the shortage of honey, but its on-line
market didn’t grow as quickly as was
hoped. Some of its purchasers, such as
Marion Street Cheese Market in Oak
Park, Ill., ran out of honey after the end
of last season, and couldn’t restock due
to the co-op’s shortage.
The store was eager to restock as
soon as more honey became available,
says Cristeana Bastian, retail and
operations manager for the store and
café. “People ask for them by name,”
she says, adding that customers like the
co-op’s honey because it fits with their
ideas about socially responsible
production and buying locally-grown
products.
“I like honey, and if it makes me a little less miserable this
August, it’ll be worth it,” says Andrew McComb, 23, who
sampled the honey and bought a few jars from the co-op at a
Chicago green market early in the season. McComb says the
local honey bolsters his immunity against summer allergens,
which he believes is because the bees use pollen from local
flora.
The co-op is able to charge a higher price for its honey
than retail grocery stores because the honey is local and
chemical free, says Barton.
“I don’t think we would have been as successful as we are
if the [local food] movement wasn’t growing strongly,”
Barton says.
“Some kind of miracle”
A strong start during the co-op’s first season in the
summer of 2003 helped Chicago Honey gain momentum.
The founding co-op members started with 40 hives that year,
but affiliations with nonprofit groups made it possible for it
to save money.
“Once you have a hive, there’s no stopping it,” Thompson
says. “We actually saw $28,000 [by 2004], and that was some
kind of miracle for us.”
Since then, it has managed to stay in the black by hiring
only a few employees, varying by season. The majority of its
expenses are for bees and honey jars, Barton says.
Low overhead costs have also helped Chicago Honey
thrive. Much of the production is done in warehouse space
loaned to it by a co-op member. The old Sears property the
hives sit on is owned by Partnership Independence Fillmore
LLC, a land developer, which allows the co-op to rent the
property at an affordable rate until it is ready to redevelop
the land.
Mark Ross, one of the property owners, says he was
attracted by the co-op’s focus on job training, especially for
formerly incarcerated individuals. The co-op received some
workforce development aid from nonprofits to teach the
clients beekeeping and other types of agriculture.
“It was a request that didn’t seem to have an adverse effect
on the property,” Ross says. “I don’t know that it’s the highest
and best use, but I think it’s a great use. I liked the idea that
they were doing job training and trying to give people a
hand.”
The co-op also operates a community garden next to the
apiary, where anyone can grow vegetables, as long as no
chemicals are used because they could harm the bees.
Expanding on-line marketing
While optimistic about their co-op’s sustainability,
members are looking for ways to improve profits by growing
beyond the traditional markets. Barton has been working to
increase the co-op’s on-line presence using social networks
such as Facebook, Twitter and its own blog to maintain
relationships with customers through the winter and tell
them about events such as beekeeping classes. It also sells on
its own website and through on-line artisan marketplaces,
such as Etsy.com and 1000markets.com.
Chicago Honey’s sales have been increasing every month
this year compared with the same month last year. Still, the
co-op wants to grow so that it can pay its employees a higher
wage while mentoring more trainees, Barton says. Eventually,
the co-op would like to set up a parallel, nonprofit
educational entity to help with the job training and to take
the financial burden off the honey business.
The co-op is looking at new business endeavors, such as
producing a honey mustard it has developed and other valueadded
food products, but it needs access to a commercially
certified kitchen space. The co-op is also giving more tours
to school and agri-tourism groups, but these offerings come
with additional pressures and require more employees.
For now, Thompson says the focus is on providing quality
honey while staying on track financially and fulfilling its
founding principles: to create a self-sufficient business, to
produce a nourishing and delicious product and to reach out
to the community with job training.
“This is may be my old-fashioned approach, but I’m not
interested in a big loan or a big investment, and I don’t want
to be in debt to make this business work,” says Thompson,
who has kept bees since he was 12 years old.
“I get paid $10 an hour, but I’m not so concerned about
that. This is a labor of love.”
