It was a blustery day on April 23 for the return of our in-person CSA Fair at the Creamery building. Nearly 30 local farmers showed up to visit with community members about CSAs and to share the importance of working together to build a strong local food economy. There were raffles, samples, snacks, a lot of laughter, and only a little bit of rain.

Board of Directors Connect with Community and Farmers

Members of the board of directors chatted with attendees over Seward-made cookies and coffee. They shared information about our co-op’s 50-year history, discussed their hopes for the next 50 years, and encouraged folks to run for the board this fall. Directors Kate Seybold and Warren King facilitated conversations with Janssen Hang, executive director of Hmong American Farmers Association, Naima Dhore, owner of Naima’s Farm and executive director of Somali American Farmers Association, and Jack Hedin, founder of Featherstone Farm.

Midwest Food Connection (MFC) was on site to engage future cooperators, too! They had activities for children including a bin for kids to get their hands in the dirt and sow seeds. MFC is a local education non-profit founded by local food co-ops, including Seward Co-op. The co-op’s annual contribution of $37,000 helps MFC provides lessons in cooking, gardening, and eating healthy food to elementary school students.

If you didn’t get a chance to make it, there’s still time to read about the farms that attended on our CSA Fair page and review the Facebook gallery with photos from the event. If you decide not to purchase a CSA share this growing season, look for produce from some of these farmers like Hmong American Farmer Association and Featherstone Farm in our stores next to the purple Community Foods logo!

We look forward to continuing the celebration later in the summer at the 50th anniversary. Stay tuned for more details!