2026 SEED Recipients

The Seward Co-op SEED program is a way in which we work towards 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

In 2026 there are eight 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. Four months will be dedicated to Seward Co-op’s needs-based program, which assists households with financial need by providing a discount on grocery purchases. You can find more information about our Needs-Based Discount here. These four months will be spread out over the course of the year.

During the 2025 Annual Owner Meeting we announced the 2026 SEED recipients selected by the staff-led committee (listed below), our People Powered Perks recipient, and the result of the Community Choice vote. This year’s People Powered Perks grants recipient is 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!

Learn more about all of the 2026 SEED recipients below.

2026 SEED Recipients:

The 2026 SEED recipients are listed below by the month they will be featured. The Community Choice recipients are listed in purple.

January	Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota	The Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota helps immigrants and refugees gain legal status, work authorization, and citizenship so they can build safer, more stable lives in our communities. SEED funds will support free legal services and community outreach for immigrants and refugees in Minnesota, including deportation defense, legal help with work permits, green cards, and citizenship.
February	Needs-Based Discount	Seward Co-op’s needs-based program assists households with financial need by providing a discount on grocery purchases.
March	Southside Foodshare	Southside Foodshare is a mutual aid project that cooks and delivers wholesome meals to unhoused neighbors in South Minneapolis four days a week, with respect and dignity. SEED funds will be used to purchase fresh & healthy food, water, compostable delivery containers, and to-go supplies; and will sustainably increase the amount of days per week they can distribute meals.
April	Cempazuchitl Collective	Cempazúchitl Collective promotes self-sufficiency and teaches culturally relevant ways of harvesting and processing wild foods on occupied Dakhóta lands—creating space for cultural resilience, healing, and ancestral wisdom. Cempazúchitl Collective spaces center the experiences of Indigenous youth and two-spirit, queer, and trans folks, while nurturing multicultural, multiracial communities working in solidarity towards collective liberation. SEED funds will be used for general operating costs, as well as providing free programming focusing on local foraging, harvesting and food processing of Native foods that can be found in the Twin Cities.
May	Needs-Based Discount	Seward Co-op’s needs-based program assists households with financial need by providing a discount on grocery purchases.
June	Centro Tyrone Guzman	As the oldest Latine organization in Minnesota, Centro Tyrone Guzman leverages cultural strengths and intergenerational collaboration to promote equity for Latine families, while building community through healing, belonging, and joy. SEED funds will help launch “Colores,” a bold new program supporting the mental health, identity, and leadership of LGBTQIA+ Latine youth.
July	The Good Acre	The Good Acre purchases food from local BIPOC farmers and sells it to wholesale customers who buy in quantities that are too big for a single farmer to fill. This work helps build wealth for those farmers and makes our food system more resilient. SEED funds will support The Good Acre’s Pay What You Can Community Supported Agriculture program, increasing accessibility to fresh produce, mitigating food insecurity, and furthering the program’s financial sustainability.
August	Needs-Based Discount	Seward Co-op’s needs-based program assists households with financial need by providing a discount on grocery purchases.
September	Midwest Food Connection	Midwest Food Connection teaches hands-on food lessons to students in K-8 classrooms via cooking lessons, schoolyard gardens, and engaging children through the arts. SEED funds will go towards increasing their capacity in South Minneapolis, allowing MFC to teach at schools in the neighborhoods of Seward Co-op’s stores.
October	Little Earth Residents Association	Under Little Earth’s Food Sovereignty Initiative, their Urban Farm provides 100 days of food security for 1000 residents thanks to the efforts of Little Earth’s youth, staff, residents and community partners. SEED funds will be used to teach youth to build and operate an outdoor hydroponics system on the Urban Farm.
November	Needs-Based Discount	Seward Co-op’s needs-based program assists households with financial need by providing a discount on grocery purchases.
December	Sisters’ Camelot	Sisters’ Camelot nourishes the community and prevents food waste with free organic groceries and meals. SEED funds will be used to hold a weekly free community meal at New City Center for Healing Justice, serving healthy organic food with vegetarian and vegan options. Meals will be delivered to unhoused neighbors, as well as shared with all community members who wish to join each week.