A Luncheon in the Garden

Apr 10, 2013

A Luncheon in the Garden

Apr 10, 2013

(Editor's note: This event has been postponed until the fall of 2013. Details pending.)

Mark your calenders!

The Honey and Pollination Center at the University of California, Davis, is planning a "Luncheon in the Garden" on Sunday, June 2 from noon to 3 p.m. in the Good Life Garden at the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science on campus.

It promises to be a delightful afternoon.

Executive director Amina Harris says it will be a "dazzling five-course meal from appetizers to cheese and desserts. Each course features honeys from around the globe."

The luncheon, open to the public, supports and introduces the Honey and Pollination Center. Food and drink will be provided by chefs, apiaries, wineries and meaderies (think wine made from honey), and the farmers of California. 

What is the Honey and Pollination Center? Its vision is to establish UC Davis as a global center of excellence and education on bees, honey and pollination.

Its mission:

  • Promote the use  of high quality honey in the California market, help ensure the sustainability of honey production in California, and showcase the importance of honey and pollination to the well-being of Californians.
  • Spearhead efforts to gain support and assemble teams for research, education and outreach programs for various stakeholder groups including: (1) the beekeeping industry, (2) agricultural interests who depend on bee pollination, (3) backyard beekeepers, and (4) the food industry

Its specific goals are five-fold:

  1. To optimize university resources by coordinating a multidisciplinary team of experts in honeyproduction, pollination and bee health
  2. To expand research and education efforts addressing the production, nutritional value, health benefits, economics, quality standards and appreciation of honey 
  3. To serve the various agricultural stakeholders that depend on pollination services
  4. To help the industry develop informative and descriptive labeling guidelines for honey and bee-related products to establish transparency in the marketplace 
  5. To elevate the perceived value of varietal honey to producers and consumers through education, marketing, and truth-in-labeling with the end goal of increasing the consumption of honey
The Honey and Pollination Center has obtained seed funding from Whole Foods (Founding Industry Partner); UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences; UC Davis Office of Research; Department of Entomology; and Z Specialty Food, Woodland, Calif.

Tickets are $125 per person. Like to attend? Contact events manager Tracy Diesslin at (530) 752-5233 or at tdiesslin@ucdavis.edu.

And if you'd like to make a donation, contact Harris at (530) 754-9301 or aharris@ucdavis.edu.

Meanwhile, be sure to check out the newly created Facebook page.