For more than 40 years, Seward Co-op has been committed to giving back to our community. In 2011, we introduced SEED, a new way for customers to participate in this commitment. This simple yet powerful community giving program allows customers to “round-up” their grocery bill for recipient organizations that share our commitment to a healthy community.
SEED Recipients are selected once per year. Application information for 2017 will be posted at seward.coop in the spring of 2016.
2015-16 SEED Recipients
October 2015
WE WIN Institute, Inc.
WE WIN supports student learning and social development in urban youth through academic activities, civic and community engagement. Funding will support WE WIN youth gardens that teach young people about the importance of food origins, eating healthy, and exercise.
November 2015
Waite House Neighborhood Center
Waite House trains neighborhood teens in community culinary arts and food justice. Funds raised would support the community based portion of their training – in Southside Kitchen providing healthy, made-from-scratch, free meals daily to neighborhood youth.
December 2015 and June 2016
Isuroon Ethnic Food Shelf
Isuroon is dedicated to building Somali women’s self-sufficiency so that they can lead healthier, more productive lives in Minnesota, nationally and in Somalia. Funding will support the creation of an ethnic food shelf serving the Somali Community in South Minneapolis.
January 2016
Full Cycle Bike Shop
Full Cycle is a bike shop that helps put homeless youth on a path toward independence. SEED funding will create jobs for homeless youth using a fleet of bike trailers to pick up and deliver food donations to organizations serving homeless youth. Homeless youth are best able to build up their own stability when they have the opportunity to help others at the same time.
February and December 2016
Sabathani Community Center
Sabathani provides food, clothing and housing to 26,000 neighborhood residents each year in South Minneapolis. We feed the chronically poor, those on disability or chemical dependent individuals and families. Sabathani Community Center has been providing basic needs services for nearly fifty years.
March and September 2016
Brian Coyle Food Shelf
Brian Coyle Community Center’s Basic Needs program offers a choice model food shelf, healthy cultural cooking classes, free produce giveaways, monthly senior NAPS food program, and is working toward expanding its community garden on site. Funding will support the purchase of fresh produce, dairy, whole grains and culturally-specific foods for the food shelf.
April 2016
In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre
On May 1, 2016, In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre’s 42nd annual MayDay celebration will build community vitality on an enormous scale. We will bring together 1200 volunteers to build and stage a parade and pageant welcoming spring and inspiring positive change for 50,000 attendees from every part of our community. Children, parents, youth and seniors are engaged for weeks in advance, building artmaking skills as they gain respect and develop friendships with each other.
May 2016
Mashkiikii Gitigan Urban Community Farm
Mashkiikii Gitigan (Ojibwe for medicine garden) addresses the food justice needs of people living in the Phillips neighborhood of South Minneapolis, many of whom face challenges in accessing fresh, healthy foods. SEED funding will support Mashkiikii Gitigan’s Karma Markets, weekly “pay what you can” farmer’s markets that provide community members with fresh fruits, vegetables, and traditional herbal medicines.
July 2016
Hope Community
SEED funds will support a Network of Community Gardens at Home Community, at the intersection of Franklin and Portland Avenues–about two miles west of Seward Co-op, in Philips Community. Hope is a community development organization that’s been around since 1977, doing both housing and community engagement in Philips. Gardens at Hope bring people together to learn about and grow healthy food, develop leadership and build a stronger, healthier community.
August 2016
The Hmong American Farmers Association
The Hmong American Farmers Association creates more economic opportunity for Hmong farmers. They make sure Hmong farmers earn more income through new markets like co-ops and schools, while bringing fresh, locally grown produced to thousands of people in the Twin Cities.
October 2016
Community Emergency Service, Inc.
Community Emegency Service has been feeding hungry people in our neighborhood for more than four decades, providing groceries and hot meals for 2,500 people monthly. SEED funds will help the organization provide holiday food for neighbors in need this season.
November 2016
Dream of Wild Health
Dream of Wild Health promotes health in the urban Native community by expanding knowledge of and access to healthy indigenous foods and medicines.. DWH’s programs focus on increasing knowledge of healthy foods, nutrition, cooking, disease prevention, traditional foods, organic farming and community advocacy.