Helping with Honey

As Barnet residents continue to feel the impact of the cost-of-living crisis, we want to thank everyone who has donated whatever they can to help us run the Foodbank. One such local donor is Lucie Chaumeton, a hobbyist beekeeper who began her ongoing support for Finchley Foodbank during the early months of the pandemic by making her own face masks for our clients.

Lucie describes herself as quite a hands-on person and, like many of us in lockdown, just wanted to be doing something. Inspiration struck when she learned that her mother was aiding the French response to Covid-19 by producing face masks as part of a grassroots mobilisation of anyone proficient with a sewing machine. Following suit, Lucie began cutting fabrics, sewing masks, and delivering them to Finchley Foodbank so that we could distribute this critically needed equipment to our clients. She recalls having ‘quite the assembly line’ as she crafted new homemade masks on a weekly basis, ultimately supplying more than 300, at a time when people needed them most. 

Lucie’s enterprise has grown substantially since 2020. She now runs twelve bee hives and grows her own fruit, which she uses to make jam, honey and beeswax products, among other foods. Her products can be viewed on her website and collected from her door, subject to availability. Lucie also sells at various markets, open gardens, and local stores. She says, ‘Everything I do is short circuit. It’s no food miles. It’s from the neighbourhood.’ What is more, all Lucie’s profits are donated to local charities and Finchley Foodbank is fortunate enough to consistently receive a large portion of the money raised. In the last financial year alone, Lucie donated a whopping £5,000 to our organisation, evidence of all the hard work she (and her bees) has put in. 

When asked why she donates, Lucie says ‘I can’t think of a more basic need than food’. She explains that making food products that people love brings her a lot of joy, so helping to meet people’s essential need for food is simply an extension of that. Lucie goes on to express admiration for our volunteers: ‘I’m really grateful that there’s people who set up these organisations and run them week in week out and line up the bread and the fruit.’ 

We want to give a special thank you to Lucie for her generosity and commitment to helping people through financial hardship. You can see more about Lucie on her Instagram account: @mieldelucie or visit her website at https://mieldelucie.wixsite.com/website

If you would like to support us with a food or monetary donation, please click here: https://www.finchleyfoodbank.org.uk/give-support.

Appreciating the work of local beekeeper and foodbank supporter supporter, Lucie Chaumerton