Seward Co-op’s 17th Annual Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) Fair was held Saturday, April 21, at a new location—the Creamery Café! We lucked out with weather and it was once again a huge success, both for farmers and attendees—what a difference a week can make weather-wise. For the fourth year in a row, it was a sunny, temperate spring day for the event, which showcased more than 30 area CSA farms.

We added new activities and programmatic elements to the fair this year. Midwest Food Connection taught children how to plant seedlings by leading them through the process. Community organizers, focused on the sustainable food movement presented informative Farmer Talks. Hmong American Farmers Association (HAFA) shared the history of how Hmong people came to the United States, and talked about the HAFA programs focused on providing immigrants with land access. Michael Cheney, of Project Sweetie Pie shared Farm Bill updates and encouraged community members to become more active and engaged in local politics. Reginaldo Haslett-Marroquin, shared his thinking around regenerative agriculture and how Main Street Project’s poultry CSA is making it a little easier for Latinos to become small-scale farmers. In case you missed the event, Facebook Live video footage is posted to our Seward Co-op Facebook page.

Inside, Creamery Café staff served up tasty brunch and lunch fare, and offered specials on taquitos and local beer from fellow co-op, Fair State. Thank you to all who were able to attend! It was a wonderful fair, which brought together neighbors and farmers, on a gorgeous spring day. Here’s to a bountiful growing season!Thank you to all who were able to attend! It was a wonderful event, which brought together neighbors and farmers, on a gorgeous spring day.

For folks still interested in exploring CSAs, both Franklin and Friendship stores are drop sites for a variety of local CSAs. Check out the weekly schedule below:

The Land Stewardship Project’s directory, is a great resource as well, posted on Seward Co-op’s website.

Congratulations to Vina Kay and Filiberto Nolasco Gomez on their election to the Seward Co-op Board of Directors, and to Lenny Nelson for his re-election to the board. The results were announced at the Annual Owner Meeting on Oct. 23. Full election results are available here.

There were three at-large seats up for election this year (two three-year terms and one one-year term; the candidate receiving the third-highest number of votes serves the one-year term). Vina and Lenny were elected to three-year terms, and Filiberto was elected to the one-year term.

Thank you to all who ran and all who voted. Your participation in the election maintains our healthy co-op democracy and helps us in the direction we take as a community-owned business.

Thank you to everyone who attended the 2017 Annual Owner Meeting. This year’s meeting was held at the University of Minnesota in the Great Hall of the Coffman Memorial Union. Seward Co-op owners enjoyed live music by Kenn Wanaku and David Stenshoel, a performance by Appetite for Change, and an engaging conversation led by Diversity and Community Engagement Manager LaDonna Redmond Sanders and guest chef Tunde Wey regarding the true cost of food. We ended the night by welcoming two new directors—Vina Kay and Filiberto Nolasco Gomez and congratulating Lenny Nelson on re-election. Full election results are available here. Photos from the evening are available on our Facebook page.

As we reflect on fiscal year 2017, which ended June 30, Seward Co-op has a lot to celebrate as an organization and community of owners.

We invite everyone to become a co-op owner through multiple payment options and a needs-based discount:
• 18,253 total owners
• 1,850 new owners

We hire staff who reflect the neighborhoods in which we operate:
• 58% of staff reside within 1.5 miles of our locations
• 35% of staff identify as people of color
• 15% of staff are multilingual

We prioritize and promote giving back to the community:
• $297,913 raised in SEED donations
• $71,241 given in the form of grants, donations, and sponsorships
• 465 paid employee community service hours

We contribute to a more equitable economy by offering quality products through intentional sourcing:
• $20.8 million in P6 (small-scale, locally produced, and/or cooperative enterprise) sales, or 46% of sales.
• A total of $2.7 million fair trade products sold.

We source products that minimize negative environmental impacts:
• $17.6 million in organic product sales, or 39% of sales.
• $19 million in local product sales

We offer products that are accessible and affordable:
• $1.1 million in SNAP and WIC transactions
• $390,346 in needs-based discounts
• $2.1 million in Nourish products sold

We operate using 35% less energy compared to industry norms:
• 80% of all Seward Co-op waste is recycled.

Only 23 percent of children in West Africa who enter primary school actually finish 6^th grade. The main reasons are lack of basic supplies and transportation. Since Alaffia built their first school in 2011, they have built 10 schools and donated school supplies to more than 20,000 students in Togo. Through Sept. 30, co-op owners and shoppers can donate the following items:

• #2 pencils
• Ball point pens
• White chalk
• Protractors
• Metal compasses
• Lined paper

Please bring any donations to the Wellness desk in either of our store locations. With your support, Alaffia will be able to provide thousands of students with much needed school supplies.

Alaffia is a fair-trade producer cooperative of skin and body care products in Togo, West Africa. The women of the Alaffia Shea Butter Cooperative gather shea nuts and hand craft shea butter and other raw ingredients using traditional, sustainable methods. The cooperative’s unrefined shea butter is then used as the base for Alaffia’s skin and hair care products, handmade in Lacey, Wash.

In 2003, Alaffia’s founders began the process of establishing an organization that would empower communities while preserving culture and resources. It was apparent that shea butter was the resource that would truly empower local Togolese. Members of the Alaffia cooperative have the opportunity to use their traditional knowledge and skills to support their families, while making indigenous, sustainable and effective skin care available to the global community. Furthermore, Alaffia dedicates a minimum of 10 percent of all sales to community-empowerment projects in Togo, so the impact of fair-trade, handcrafted shea butter reaches beyond the cooperative. Alaffia shea butter is certified Fair for Life by the Institute for Marketecology, one of the first and most renowned international certification agencies for organic and social accountability.

Purchase tickets here!

Share a traditional Nigerian meal with us on Monday, Oct. 23 at our Annual Owner Meeting. Guest Chef Tunde Wey, along with Seward Co-op’s Diversity and Community Engagement Manager LaDonna Sanders-Redmond, will engage co-op owners in an open dialogue around the real cost of food using the 1863 Homestead Act to spark the conversation.

The 1863 Homestead Act was critical to the founding of Minnesota and paved the way for the evolving nature of labor on the land as experienced by many small family farms, migrant farmers and food service workers. It encouraged Western migration by providing settlers 160 acres of public land. In exchange, homesteaders paid a small filing fee and were required to complete five years of continuous residence before receiving ownership of the land. By 1862, most of the land that was still available for homesteaders was located in subprime farming regions prone to wildfires, damaging wind and problematic pests.

Together, we will discuss the acquisition of land for arriving immigrants, the emancipation from slavery of Africans Americans, and Native American Indian removal caused by the Act, as well as its effect on racial discrimination, wealth inequity, and its impacts on rural and urban communities.

Annual Owner Meeting Menu

Egusi Stew with Pounded Yam
The Nigerian Egusi soup, prepared with melon seeds, is popular in West Africa. The soup is thickened with the ground seeds, and is prepared by most tribes in Nigeria in many different ways.

Pounded Yam
Pounded yam is one of the Nigerian fufu recipes. It is eaten with Nigerian soups, dipped into the soup like bread.

Moi
Bean cake made with African honey beans.

Stewed Chicken with Pepper Sauce

Desserts
House-made by Seward Co-op
Triple chocolate cookies
Made-without-gluten peanut butter cookies
Vegan peanut butter chocolate chip cookies
Vegan poppy seed cookies

Fruits, Veggies and Dips
Provided by The Wedge Catering
Fruit and nut trays
Raw veggie trays
Roasted veggie trays
Parmesan and artichoke dip
Roasted red pepper hummus
Spinach dip served with crostini, flat breads, Tuscan bread and crackers
Roasted vegetables

Beverages
Local beer
Wine
Non-alcoholic beverages: organic apple juice, organic milk, Joia soda, LaCroix,
Peace Coffee

* Please note that the annual meeting will be photographed.

During February 2017, nearly 500 Seward Community Co-op owners provided their feedback on the cooperative’s performance. Seward appears to be meeting owners’ needs quite well; nearly 90% of the respondents said they were satisfied or extremely satisfied, and we rank highly relative to other food cooperatives around the country. However, newer owners are less satisfied with Seward than more long-time owners, and overall satisfaction indicators have been trending slightly downward since 2013.

In terms of shopper satisfaction with store characteristics, Seward ranks significantly higher than the average cooperative with respect to some key store features: quality/freshness of its products, location, hours, atmosphere, and natural/organic products. Seward Co-op owners are even more pleased with the quality of store departments; nearly every department meets the needs of a significantly higher proportion of owners than the average cooperative.

Compared to other cooperatives around the country, Seward owners spend a significantly higher proportion of their food budget at the cooperative. In 2017, nearly half said that Seward is their primary grocery store.

Owner awareness of the P6 and Nourish programs was mixed. A much higher proportion (70%) was aware of the P6 initiative than the Nourish program (43%). Consumers seem to place more value on an item being organic or local than whether it is classified as P6.

In terms of communications, Seward owners continue to prefer more traditional forms of communication (emails/e-newsletter, in-store postings and mailings) over social media communication (Facebook, Instagram and Twitter). Large majorities of respondents said they are satisfied with the frequency and content of communications from us.

Seward Co-op, based on the 2017 results, continues to be high performing. The results suggest the need to address some issues: consolidating our position with newer owners, trying to determine the source of erosion of the proportion of very satisfied owners, considering the array of products offered at the Friendship store, and concerns about prices. Seward comes at these issues from a position of strength vis a vis owners’ attitudes about the cooperative.

Open Streets Mpls: Franklin Ave E

Sunday, August 17, 10 am-4 pm

Seward Co-op is a Street Sponsor of Open Streets Mpls: Franklin Ave E. We’ll be selling brats and celebrating with Zipp’s, Harriet Brewing, Chef Shack and Du Nord Craft Spirits with music and libations! You can also visit us in front of the Co-op Creamery building on 26th Street, where we’ll be selling T-shirts and providing samples, activities, and information on the expansion.