2021 SEED Recipients

The Seward Co-op SEED program is a way in which we reach our Ends. The SEED program is a simple yet powerful community giving opportunity that allows customers to “round-up” their grocery bill for recipient organizations that share our commitment to a healthy community. All funds donated at the register are given directly to the recipient organization at the end of each month. Pre-pandemic it was not uncommon for monthly SEED round-ups to total $20,000 or more. Since the onset of the pandemic we have noticed a decline in monthly SEED totals. Please consider rounding up your purchase or tacking on any extra dollar amount to support the work of our SEED recipients.

Community Choice SEED Results

A Seward Co-op staff-led committee chose eight of the twelve SEED recipients from a pool of applicants. During the 2020 Annual Owner Meeting we announced the 2021 SEED recipients selected by the staff-led committed–listed below–, our People Powered Perks recipient and the result of the Community Choice vote. This year’s People Powered Perks grants recipient is Full Cycle Bike Shop.

Seward Co-op owners and customers are invited annually to select four of twelve 2021 SEED recipients in Community Choice voting. All SEED Community Choice finalists receive a $1,000 grant through the Seward Community Fund. The four organizations selected as the 2021 SEED Community Choice recipients are: Immigrant Law Center of MN, North American Indigenous Food Systems (NATIFS), St. Stephen’s Human Services, and Open Arms of Minnesota. Thank you to all those who voted!

Learn more about all of the 2021 SEED recipients below. The year is almost over, learn about the 2022 SEED recipients here!

Open Arms of Minnesota

Volunteers for Open Arms MN

For the last 35 years, Open Arms has cooked and delivered healthy meals to neighbors living with a variety of life-threatening illnesses. The meals are all free of charge and medically tailored to provide the nutrition that their clients need to improve their health. Last year, Open Arms served 793,873 meals to 3,757 clients, caregivers, and dependent children. In addition to their core meal delivery program and nutrition services, Open Arms also produced more than 14,000 pounds of fresh produce for their clients’ meals at five Open Farms located in Minneapolis, St. Paul and Afton, and also partnered with two neighborhood centers in the Phillips Neighborhood of South Minneapolis to provide nearly 4,000 meals to children at risk of going hungry during summer months.

Learn More

2021 SEED Recipients:

The 2021 SEED recipients are listed below by the month they will be featured. The Community Choice recipients are listed in purple.

January

Isuroon

Isuroon is dedicated to building support for Somali women and families through social connectedness and self-sufficiency to lead healthier and more productive lives. SEED funding will be used for a culturally-specific food shelf to all in need.

February

WE WIN Institute (WE WIN)

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. Youth Gardens provide young people with the opportunity to discover the ecology of our diverse urban community, teaching them about the importance of food origins, healthy eating, and sustainable food practices.

March

Immigrant Law Center of MN

Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota (ILCM) is a nonprofit agency that provides immigration legal assistance to low-income immigrants and refugees in Minnesota. ILCM also works to educate Minnesota communities and professionals about immigration matters, and advocates for state and federal policies which respect the universal human rights of immigrants.

April

In the Heart of the Beast

In the Heart of The Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre is committed to honoring the legacy and values that have guided them since 1973: creativity, equity, and empathy. They are working with the MayDay Council, a dynamic group of local artists and organizers to advance an intentional vision: lighting up our horizon with an equitable and accessible MayDay Celebration in 2021 and beyond.
SEED donations support HOBT’s response in this moment of collective challenge as they work to stay rooted in our shared resources and find potential for human connection with creativity and resilience.

May

Seward Longfellow Restorative Justice

Restorative justice examines the harm caused by an offense and emphasizes the needs of those impacted in developing a plan for the harm to be repaired. In contrast, the court system emphasizes laws broken and assigns “punishment” accordingly. Seward Longfellow Restorative Justice is a neighborhood resource for helping people to resolve harm, before the police are called or as an alternative to criminal justice. They also provide training and presentations about restorative justice.

June

St. Stephen’s Human Services

St. Stephen’s Human Services operates two shelters in Minneapolis for adults of all genders experiencing homelessness. SEED Funds will be used to infuse the nearly 300 meals served daily with more nutritious, local, and environmentally-conscious options.

July

Southside Harm Reduction Services

Southside Harm Reduction Services is a grassroots mobile syringe program that works to support people who use drugs in Minneapolis through syringes service program that recognizes people’s human rights to health, safety, and autonomy. These funds will be used to purchases syringes and other harm reduction supplies that are part of community based pathways to safety.

August

Touchstone Mental Health

Touchstone Mental Health provides an array of innovative person-centered services for people whose lives are affected by mental illnesses. They serve over 1,000 people in Minneapolis through community housing services, providing food security, transportation, health care and support to keep their housing.

September

Better Futures Minnesota

Better Futures Minnesota is a second-chance organization that provides housing, job training, health care, and mentorship to men who are recently released from prison. They have a ReUse Warehouse in South Minneapolis where the men work and support a healthier environment through deconstructions and re-use services.

October

North American Traditional Indigenous Food Systems (NATIFS)

North American Traditional Indigenous Food Systems (NATIFS) is launching the Indigenous Food Lab in Minneapolis. By providing education and training that give Native people access to healthy, local, indigenous food, we can address serious issues of malnutrition, food-related illness, and economic impoverishment on tribal lands. We are requesting funding to launch virtual programming, including how-to videos and podcast conversations with Native chefs, growers, foragers and other relevant Native experts as a resource to Native people launching Indigenous food-related enterprises in their Native communities.

November

Division of Indian Work

Division of Indian Work’s mission is to support and strengthen urban American Indian people through culturally-based education, traditional healing approaches, and leadership development. This is achieved by focusing on community and delivering programs and services directly or in partnership with other organizations. Funds from SEED will help Division of Indian Work hire a part-time van driver for their Produce Pony food distribution program to deliver fresh and frozen Indigenous-made meals to our elders, youth, and the families who access our programming.

December

Open Arms of Minnesota

Open Arms of Minnesota is the only nonprofit organization in the state that cooks and delivers free meals tailored to meet the nutritional needs of individuals living with life-threatening illnesses. Our clients are those most at-risk during the COVID-19 outbreak because they are immunocompromised and have underlying conditions that make them more susceptible to infection and severe symptoms—ensuring they have access to high-quality meals is critical, now more than ever.