Beekeeper Randall Anderson of Kennedy fascinated students at Randolph Academy on Monday when he demonstrated how to extract honey from honeycomb. Vocational teacher Beth Walters invited Anderson to class because recent changes in school nutrition policies have required that food in school be of higher nutritional value. As Mrs. Walters searched for healthy recipes for her Vocational Class to prepare, she found that honey is a common ingredient.

Students learned three basic steps to the extraction process: first, to scrape the outermost layer of wax from the honeycomb using a long, heated "uncapping knife". This step opens the cells of the honeycomb to expose the sweet, syrupy treasure of honey inside. Next, students spun the honeycomb in a stainless steel centrifuge to extract the honey. Finally, the honey was filtered through a metal screen and finally through a fine nylon mesh. This step removes pieces of beeswax and other impurities.

Mr. Anderson shared many interesting facts about honey production. One bee will produce less than a teaspoon of honey in its lifecycle. Mr. Anderson, who also teachers English at the Randolph Academy, has been a beekeeper for over 30 years. Early in his beekeeping days, Mr. Anderson actually took his hives to college with him after persuading an open-minded landlord. At times, he has kept as many as nine large hives. Today, he keeps one or two hives, which are four boxes or "supers" stacked. Approximately 120,000 bees reside in the hive, producing 8 gallons of honey each year. The national emphasis on healthier food in schools is intended to address epidemic levels of childhood obesity and to prevent the serious health risks that are associated with obesity.

Policy makers at all levels have attempted to shape a healthy future for this generation of children by adopting policies that mandate changes. Randolph Academy Board of Education recently adopted a revision to the district Wellness Policy that establishes nutritional guidelines for healthy snacks and beverages. The standard that was adopted originates with the New York State School Food Service Association's "Choose Sensibly" program. The standard for a healthy snack is: 7 g or less fat, 2 g or less saturated fat, 15 g or less sugar, 360 mg or less sodium. The Board also made the difficult decision to eliminate the traditional birthday cupcake, but endorsed a long list of non-food options that involve social rewards, privileges, physical recreation, and trinket type prizes.