National Honey Month
September 1 - September 30
About National Honey Month
National Honey Month takes place throughout September each year, celebrating honey, the honeybees that produce it, and the beekeepers who tend them. Established in 1989 by the National Honey Board, it marks the close of the honey harvest season across the United States and encourages people to cook with honey, support local apiaries, and learn about the vital role bees play in our food system.
How to Celebrate National Honey Month
September is the perfect time to get hands-on with honey, whether in the kitchen, at a market, or out in the garden. Here are some of the best ways to take part:
- Buy from a local beekeeper – Visit a farmers’ market or apiary and purchase honey straight from the source. Local, raw honey reflects the flora of your region and supports small-scale beekeepers directly.
- Cook and bake with honey – Swap refined sugar for honey in your baking, drizzle it over yoghurt or porridge, or whisk it into a honey-lemon vinaigrette. Its flavour varies enormously depending on the flowers the bees foraged.
- Host a honey tasting – Gather several honeys from different floral sources, such as clover, orange blossom, manuka, and heather, and compare their colour, aroma, and taste with friends or family.
- Try a honey glaze – Brush honey over roasted vegetables, salmon, or chicken to add a caramelised, golden finish to a simple meal.
- Attend a beekeeping workshop – Many local associations run open days and beginner sessions in late summer. Watching a hive inspection is a memorable way to understand where honey comes from.
- Plant pollinator-friendly flowers – Sow lavender, borage, or wildflowers to give bees a late-season nectar source and help the wider pollinator population.
- Teach children about bees – Read a book about beekeeping or explain how bees pollinate crops. Schools and youth groups often mark the month with bee-themed activities.
- Stir honey into your morning drink – A simple spoonful in tea or coffee is the easiest way to mark the month and rediscover honey as a natural sweetener.
What is National Honey Month?
National Honey Month is an annual observance dedicated to promoting honey, beekeeping, and the wellbeing of honeybees. It is championed by the National Honey Board, an industry-funded body overseen by the United States Department of Agriculture. The month celebrates honey as a versatile natural food while drawing attention to the pressures facing bee colonies. It is embraced by beekeepers, food producers, cooks, and anyone who enjoys the golden sweetener.
When is National Honey Month?
National Honey Month runs for the whole of September, from Tuesday, 1 September to Wednesday, 30 September 2026. The timing is deliberate: September traditionally marks the end of the honey collection season for many beekeepers in the northern hemisphere, when the year’s harvest is gathered in and hives are prepared for winter.
The History of National Honey Month
National Honey Month was created in 1989 by the National Honey Board, which was itself established under a 1984 federal act to support the American honey industry through research, promotion, and education. September was chosen because it coincides with the natural rhythm of beekeeping, falling at the tail end of the harvest when honey supers are pulled and extracted.
The honey itself has a history stretching back thousands of years. Cave paintings in Spain dating to around 8,000 years ago depict humans gathering wild honey, and honey has been prized by civilisations from ancient Egypt to Greece and Rome as food, medicine, and an offering to the gods. Honeybees were brought to North America by European settlers in the 1600s, where the indigenous peoples reportedly called them “the white man’s flies”.
In recent decades, National Honey Month has taken on an added purpose as awareness has grown about threats to bee populations, including habitat loss, pesticides, disease, and colony collapse. Campaigns such as the National Honey Board’s “Honey Saves Hives” initiative now use the month to connect honey’s culinary appeal with the need to protect the pollinators behind it.
Fun Facts About National Honey Month
- A single honeybee produces only about one twelfth of a teaspoon of honey in its entire lifetime.
- To make one pound of honey, bees must visit roughly two million flowers and fly the equivalent of more than once around the globe.
- The USDA estimates that honeybees are responsible for around 80 percent of insect crop pollination, and about one third of the human diet relies on insect-pollinated plants.
- There are an estimated 2.7 million managed bee colonies in the United States, many of which are trucked around the country to pollinate crops such as almonds.
- Honey never truly spoils; sealed pots of honey discovered in ancient Egyptian tombs were found to be perfectly edible thousands of years later.
- The flavour and colour of honey depend entirely on which flowers the bees visit, ranging from pale, delicate clover honey to dark, robust buckwheat honey.
Why National Honey Month Matters
Beyond the pleasure of a sweet spoonful, National Honey Month highlights how dependent our food supply is on healthy pollinators. With crops such as almonds, apples, blueberries, and cherries relying heavily on honeybee pollination, the survival of bees is bound up with food security. The month also supports local beekeepers and small producers, keeping a traditional craft alive while reminding us that protecting bees protects far more than honey alone. If you love marking culinary occasions, you might also enjoy National Goat Cheese Month, another celebration of artisan food producers.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is National Honey Month?
National Honey Month is a September observance celebrating honey, honeybees, and beekeepers. It promotes honey as a natural food and raises awareness of the importance of bees to the ecosystem and food supply.
When is National Honey Month in 2026?
National Honey Month runs throughout September 2026, from Tuesday, 1 September to Wednesday, 30 September.
Who started National Honey Month?
It was established in 1989 by the National Honey Board, a body overseen by the United States Department of Agriculture that promotes honey and supports the American beekeeping industry.
Spread the Word
Join the celebration and share your favourite honey recipes, tasting notes, and beekeeping snaps on social media with #NationalHoneyMonth and #NationalHoneyMonth2026. Tag a friend who loves honey and challenge them to support a local beekeeper this September.
Related Awareness Days
- National Goat Cheese Month – Another month-long celebration of a beloved natural food and the small producers behind it.
- Goat Cheese Day – A single-day food celebration for fans of artisan flavours and farmhouse produce.
- Homemade Pie Day – A perfect pairing, since honey makes a wonderful natural sweetener in homemade bakes.
Links
2026 Awareness Days Wall Planner
Every key awareness day at a glance. Perfect for offices, staff rooms, and team planning.
View Calendar →
