Seward Co-op’s December SEED recipient Isuroon is the recipient of $18,558.25, collected from 39,702 individual donors at Seward Co-op registers. A check was presented to Isuroon Executive Director Fartun Weli in a small ceremony on Thursday, Jan. 15.

This represents the largest single award in the history of Seward Co-op’s monthly at-the-register donation program.

“We’re excited and pleased for Isuroon, whose mission matches Seward’s so closely,” said Sean Doyle, Seward Co-op’s General Manager. “We hope this money helps bring greater and more equal access to nutritious food for everyone in Minneapolis.”

Isuroon is seeking to create a halal food shelf because some East African elders immigrate to the United States only to find themselves in need and unable to eat the food from food shelves. Isuroon’s focus will be on culturally appropriate and minimally processed foods—rarities in Minneapolis food shelves, yet essential for the well-being of Somali elders.

Isuroon Executive Director Fartun Weli says that a donation from the co-op’s SEED program would not only help the project’s “bottom line” but would also help to cast the food shelf program as an attractive venture, making fundraising a great deal easier for the non-profit in the coming year.

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