We are about three-quarters of the way through our current fiscal year and would like to share this update with our owners and staff. In this report, we have financial results for the first half of our fiscal year, an update on the completed sale of the Creamery building, and some plans and expectations for the coming months.

Our previous financial update in December reported that after a significant loss for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2024, we had achieved a small profit in the first quarter of the current fiscal year. We were happy to add that we had also achieved a small profit in the preceding quarter (October-December). We did so despite some large one-time expenses in the quarter, including the move of our administrative offices from the Creamery to the Franklin store.

After the previous fiscal year’s loss, the co-op was unable to sustain additional losses. The small but positive net income we achieved in the first two quarters of this fiscal year was a necessary step in rebuilding our long-term financial sustainability, and we still have a lot of work to do. We previously noted the co-op’s Leadership Team is focused on five strategic priorities: grow sales, achieve financial sustainability, keep it simple, cultivate a culture of inclusion and belonging, and strengthen our connection to community. One essential element of the modest success we have achieved this fiscal year has been sales growth. We are consistently growing sales at both stores, and that growth has been trending upwards recently. This would not be possible without the hard work of our staff and the ongoing support of our community.

In January, we sold the Creamery building to North American Indigenous Traditional Food Systems (NATIFS). We were incredibly fortunate to be able to partner with an organization with so many shared values. While the sale did not result in a huge windfall for the co-op, it did have several positive financial impacts: our cash position is now stronger, we paid off approximately $2 million of debt, and we no longer have the ongoing costs of owning and operating the building. These positive aspects of the sale do come with one significant caveat–because the value of the Creamery as an asset on our balance sheet was greater than the sale price, we incurred a loss from the sale. From an accounting perspective, this is a “loss on sale of asset.” The size of this loss is large enough so that even if we continue the modest profitability through our core operations, we will still end the fiscal year with a loss. However, achieving positive net income, excluding that loss, would be a huge step forward for the co-op.

For the remainder of our fiscal year, our plan is to keep building on the accomplishments of recent quarters, especially continuing to grow sales. We are coming up on a fun time of year at the co-op–the days are getting warmer and longer, people are out and about more, and local produce has started to arrive. We also have challenges ahead. A substantial number of owner loans will reach maturity throughout 2025; we have another large step-up in our pay scale in August, and we need to make capital investments at both stores.

In the Spring edition of our Sprout! newsletter, we introduced a proposed increase in the cost of ownership from $75 to $99. Our $75 ownership has not changed since 1987 and is lower than most co-ops both locally and nationally. We believe this change is another important step in solidifying the long-term financial health of the co-op. Ultimately, Seward Co-op’s owners will make this decision democratically.

Reflecting on the past several years at Seward Co-op can be a little overwhelming considering the scope of change we have experienced internally and externally, and not always by choice. The sale of the Creamery was an acknowledgement that the future of 2015 is not the future of 2025. Any success we have is only possible because of the work of our staff and the support of our community. We encourage you to continue expanding that support as we move into a new season at Seward Co-op.