2025 Annual Owner Meeting and Social Hour Recap

Re-center and Connect

Thank you to all who joined us for the 2025 Annual Owner Meeting and Social Hour on Oct. 27, 2025. We had perfect fall weather while we gathered to share the results of the board of directors election, the results of the Class-A stock increase vote, celebrating the 10-year anniversary of the Friendship store, and the announcement of all grant recipients for 2026, including SEED, the Seward Community Fund, and People Powered Perks. Throughout the event, attendees enjoyed tacos from local food truck Habanero Tacos, local brews and non-alcoholic beverages from Arbeiter Brewing, our venue for the evening, as well as cookies from Seward Co-op’s bakery. We enjoyed a night full of mingling, recapping our past year as a co-op, and savoring one another’s company.

View Photos from the 2025 Annual Owner Meeting

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Board of Directors Election Results

An integral piece of the annual meeting is announcing the board of directors election results. Congratulations to LaDonna Sanders Redmond and Jess Nimm who were elected to three-year terms. Congratulations to Alice Wiand, who was chosen as the designated employee director, and holds a two-year term. Together with current directors, these co-op owners are responsible for articulating the vision and goals for Seward Co-op that management pursues and achieves. The 2025 election featured a pool of highly qualified candidates. Thank you to all who ran and all who voted.

FULL ELECTION RESULTS

Class-A Stock Increase Election Results

Seward Co-op is so pleased to announce that owners voted to increase the cost of ownership to $99. The previous price of $75 hadn’t changed since it was set in 1987. This vote to increase the cost to $99 helps ensure our co-op stays financially strong and able to keep supporting local farmers, sustainable producers, and small-scale businesses for years to come. It is with much gratitude that we thank our communities for investing in our community-owned co-op. Because of the logistics required for this change, it won’t go into effect until January of next year. Please look forward to more communication in the coming months.

MORE ABOUT THE STOCK INCREASE

2025 Scorecard and Annual Report

During the annual meeting, the 2025 Scorecard was made available. A digital Scorecard and Annual Report can be viewed here. We invite you to scroll through to read more details on how Seward Co-op has worked towards meeting our Ends Statement, or mission. To obtain a print version of the 2025 Scorecard and Annual Report, please visit the Customer Service kiosk at either store.

VIEW SCORECARD

2026 SEED Recipients and Community Choice Results

At the annual meeting, we also announced the 2026 SEED recipients, four of which have been selected by a Seward Co-op staff-led committee, and four which were selected by our community through a Community Choice vote. In 2026, four months will be dedicated to supporting Seward Co-op’s Needs-Based Discount program, which provides a discount on grocery purchases for owners who qualify. You can find more information about our Needs-Based Discount here. These four months will be spread out over the course of the year.

At the 2025 Annual Owner Meeting, we also announced our People Powered Perks recipient, Bolder Options, a wellness-based mentoring for middle school youth, age 10-14 years old.

Seward Co-op owners and customers are invited annually to select four 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 2026 SEED Community Choice recipients are Centro Tyrone Guzman, Little Earth Residents Association, Midwest Food Connection, and Southside Food Share. Thank you to all those who voted!

2026 SEED RECIPIENTS

Special thanks to the co-op’s Marketing and Equity and Community Engagement staff and the board members on our Community Engagement Committee who collaborated on the night’s planning and programming. A big KUDOS to our staff and board presenters. Finally, thanks to all Seward Co-op owners! Your contributions and attendance at these discussions are sincerely and graciously appreciated.