Sioux Honey, Jewel-Osco Donate 10,000 Bottles

The honey gift goes to the Northern Illinois Food Bank as holiday meal boxes are packed through early December.

Updated on Nov. 8, 2026 in Philanthropy

Stacked crates of amber honey jars on a concrete loading dock with a flat Midwestern horizon behind them under overcast winter light. — Sioux Honey Co-op and Jewel-Osco donated nearly 10,000 bottles of Sue Bee honey, about 5,000 pounds, to the Northern Illinois Food Bank on Saturday. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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Sioux Honey Co-op and Jewel-Osco donated nearly 10,000 bottles of Sue Bee honey to the Northern Illinois Food Bank on Saturday. Jewel-Osco volunteers also helped pack holiday meal boxes at the food bank.

Why it matters

The donation, which weighs nearly 5,000 pounds, helps food pantries and feeding sites stock a relatively expensive item for households whose grocery budgets are strained. The effort is presented as a way of giving back to the community.

The donation totals nearly 10,000 bottles weighing nearly 5,000 pounds, believed to be one of the largest single honey donations in the Northern Illinois Food Bank's history. About 100 Jewel-Osco volunteers were scheduled to be on hand Saturday, and the exact number of recipients was not stated.

The players

Sioux Honey Co-op

Sioux Honey Co-op is a beekeeper-owned honey cooperative that markets Sue Bee honey and works with local beekeepers.

Jewel-Osco

Jewel-Osco is a supermarket chain operating in Illinois and neighboring states, known for its community food drives and volunteer programs.

Northern Illinois Food Bank

The Northern Illinois Food Bank is a regional hunger-relief organization based in Geneva that distributes food to pantries and feeding sites across northern Illinois.

The details

Sioux Honey Co-op teamed with Jewel-Osco to make the gift, which will be distributed through agency partners including food pantries and feeding sites. The Sharing Sweetness initiative, launched with the co-op's local beekeepers, supports the donation.

Saturday: Honey donation received and Jewel-Osco volunteers pack holiday meal boxes.
Early December: The holiday meal-packing program is scheduled to run through this period.
Next week or two: Honey expected to reach agency partners and neighbors' homes.

Philanthropy Context

The gift follows a pattern of corporate in-kind donations to the Northern Illinois Food Bank, which distributes donated product through a network of pantries and feeding sites. A prior honey giveaway in Atlanta distributed all of its honey within 30 minutes, showing strong demand for donated honey.

Households in northern Illinois who use food pantries may receive honey through agency partners within the next week or two. Volunteers and donors can see how corporate in-kind gifts reach local food assistance programs.

The takeaway

Corporate partnerships can turn a shelf-stable product into meaningful support for families stretching grocery budgets. Community members who want to help can look for similar food drives around the holidays.