We kicked off our co-op’s 50th-anniversary celebration last year with an Annual Owner Meeting featuring Dr. Jessica Gordon Nembhard, author of “Collective Courage: A History of African American Cooperative Economic Thought and Practice.” Dr. Gordon Nembhard joined Seward Co-op owners, board members, and local co-op innovators in conversation about how co-ops can be a manifestation of abolition — inspiration as we began a year of exploring our evolution as a co-op over the past 50 years and who we want to be 50 years in the future.

In January, we welcomed early co-op movement leaders Lori Zuidema, Gary Cunningham, and Leo Cashman for a virtual panel discussion about the original documentary film “The Co-op Wars.” The discussion served as an unofficial reunion for many long-time Seward Co-op owners. It provided an in-depth behind-the-scenes look at the motivations behind the founding of numerous Twin Cities co-ops and addressed issues of inequity that are still relevant today.

April brought the triumphant return of our in-person Community Supported Agriculture Fair at the Creamery building. Nearly 30 local farmers visited with community members about CSAs and shared 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.

And finally, we partied like it was 1972 at Seward Co-op’s 50th-anniversary block party at Open Streets Franklin! Co-op owners and neighbors feasted on the popular $5 community meal and danced in the street to local bands and DJs curated by KRSM. Over 20 community organizations and Community Foods vendors joined the celebrations with food samples, art, and family activities.