Are you planning on running for the Board of Directors at Seward Co-op?

All candidates are required to attend one orientation meeting and one board meeting to be eligible to run in the election.

Orientation meetings are Wednesday, July 22 at 6 p.m. and Saturday, July 25 at 10 a.m. in the Seward Co-op Creamery building at 2601 E. Franklin Ave.

Board meetings are held on the last Tuesday of every month, at 6:15 p.m. at the Co-op Creamery administrative offices, second floor. Upcoming meeting dates are: July 28, Aug. 25 and Sept. 29.

Information on candidate packets and other important deadlines here.

The SEED totals are in for the month of March: Seward shoppers and owners have donated $19,776.39 (from 43,693 individual donations). That’s a record for monthly donations via SEED! Seward Co-op matched $2,085 in donations over the course of the final March weekend, for a grand total of $21,860 in March.

Those crucial dollars go to the Sabathani Food Shelf, our neighbors across the street from the Seward Friendship Store-to-be. Sabathani feeds over 25,000 Minneapolitans every year at their Food Shelf, so we’re exceedingly proud of Seward shoppers and owners for being so generous to them.

Thank you and CONGRATULATIONS to everyone who took part at Sabathani and Seward Co-op!

Meet the local producers who bring us fruits, veggies, flowers, and meat throughout the local season by visiting their farms on the 2015 Eat Local Farm Tour!

Take the kids, meet friends along the way, or bike to local urban farms near you on Saturday, July 18. The 2015 Farm Guide booklets are available here or at the Seward Co-op Customer Service Desk.

Twenty-one local farms are opening their doors to the Eat Local Tour this year:

10th Street Farm & Market

Big River Farms/Minnesota Food Association

Buttermilk Falls CSA & Folk School Retreat

East Henderson Farm

Garden Farme –

Gardens of Eagan

Growing Lots Urban Farm

Humble Pie Farm

Shepherd’s Way Farm

Simple Harvest Farm Organics

Singing Hills Goat Dairy Farm

Star Prairie Trout Farm

Stone’s Throw Urban Farm

The Beez Kneez

Thousand Hills Cattle Company

Whistling Well Farm

Women’s Environmental Institute

The tour is free and there’s no need to register! Just decide which farms you’d like to visit, note when they’re open for visitors, and drive there or “caravan” with family and friends. (The co-op is not providing transportation.)

To find when farms are open, get a copy of the 2015 Farm Guide and check the farms’ listings. Visitors are welcome to show up during these times.

Your Twin Cities-area food co-ops support the annual Farm Tour. For more information:
2015 Eat Local Farm Tour Facebook Page

And follow the hashtag:
#‎EatLocalFarmTour

Significant progress has occurred over the past couple of months, and we’re excited to share these updates with you.

Friendship Store

Friendship Store is taking shape! We are now five months into what we estimate to be a 12-month construction schedule. After a delay earlier in the winter due to utility relocations, we have seen considerable headway in the past few weeks. The two-story frame of the building is beginning to take shape (see pic above). The steel structure of the building should be completed this week. READ MORE

Welcome, Raynardo Williams

Seward Co-op has hired Raynardo Williams as the store manager of the new Friendship Store. As a former entrepreneur, Raynardo is accustomed to the work required to bring a vision like the Friendship Store to fruition.

“I’m used to being very hands on,” he says. “I like getting my hands dirty on projects.” READ MORE

Co-op Creamery

Work on the Co-op Creamery at 2601 E. Franklin Ave. continues. In late January 2015, co-op administrative staff moved into the Creamery Building’s second floor offices from the Franklin store. This move has helped to alleviate space constraints at the Franklin store offices. The staff at the Creamery will support all Seward locations. READ MORE

Welcome, Chad Snelson

Creamery Cafe Production Manager: Seward Co-op has hired Chad Snelson as director of operations at Seward Co-op’s Creamery Kitchen and Co-op Creamery Neighborhood Café. At this point, with the café still under construction, it’s been a lot of planning and forecasting for Chad.

“Planning is fun,” says Chad, “but actually doing it is way more fun.” READ MORE

Uh oh… did you leave your Valentine’s Day gift buying to the last minute? Don’t worry, that’s not a problem at Seward Co-op. Plan to pop in to the co-op on Saturday, Feb. 14, for gift-ideas, treat tastings, and complimentary Valentine’s bouquet wrapping.

Sweetheart Sampler Schedule

10 a.m.–2 p.m. Evan Healy will be in the store with their Cleansing Milks and Moisturizers
Noon–4 p.m. Luv Ice Cream and Nuclear Nectar Habanero Hot Sauce. Who doesn’t like something sweet and spicy on Valentine’s Day?

Free Bouquet-wrapping from 10 a.m.–6 p.m.
The bouquet wrapping station will be on the other side of the check-out lanes (located by the stairwell). Select your Len Busch Roses’ bouquets in the Produce Department, ring them up, and then have your flowers wrapped for free on the way out!

Seward Co-op’s Valentine’s Flowers and Plants from Len Busch Roses (Plymouth, MN)

Starting Thursday, February 12th, Seward Co-op will carry these flowers for Valentine’s Day.

Cuts
Gerbera Daisy – 3 stem bunches for $6.99
Alstroemeria – 10 stems for $12.99
Stargazer Lily – 2 stems for $7.99
Asiatic Lily – 3 stems for $7.99
Tulips – $9.99
Roses- 12 stems for $29.99
Snapdragons- $14.99

(We’ll also have Mixed Bouquets at various price points – but these are not totally local grown)

Potted Plants (locally grown; many of these aae in the store now!)
Cyclamen – 6-inch for $12.99
Kalonchoe- 6-inch for $12.99
Bulb gardens – 4-inch for $5.99/ large $12.99
Orchids – 4-inch for $23.99; 2-inch for $14.99
Azaleas – 6-inch for $21.99

Also from LBR (but not locally grown)

Jasmine wreaths (beautiful scent!)
Azalea trees
Many mixed bouquets
Single roses sleeved with greens
Half dozen rose bunches
Cut orchid bouquets

(Photo courtesy Isuroon Ethnic Food Shelf)

We’re pleased to announce the recipients of Seward Community Fund (SCF) grants for 2014. Grants funded by SCF are awarded annually to organizations whose work aligns with our Ends Statement:

Seward Community Co-op Ends Statement: Seward Co-op will sustain a healthy community that has equitable economic relationships; positive environmental impacts; and inclusive, socially responsible practices.

Additionally, organizations that meet the following requirements are given preference in SCF grant-making:

• Based in the communities served by Seward Co-op.
• Reflect the cultural diversity of our communities.
• Use the funding for specific projects rather than general operating costs.
• Nonreligious and nonpartisan.
• Registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations.

Granting funds through the SCF embodies our co-op’s commitment to grow, not just as a business, but as a resource for organizations whose work aligns with our vision for a healthy community.

Below are this year’s 2014 SCF recipients:

AfroEco ($4,000)
AfroEco is actively organizing with partners to develop a local food system in North Minneapolis that co-produces community health and wealth.

Ananya Dance Theatre ($5,000)
Ananya Dance Theatre’s choreographer Ananya Chatterjea, visual artist Seitu Jones, and behavioral artist Marcus Young will partner with Frogtown Farm, Afro Eco, and the Indigenous Peoples Task Force to produce an evening performance reflecting and honoring the age-old work of women who cultivate, nurture and protect land and agriculture.

Cedar Cultural Center ($4,000)
Midnimo (Somali word for “unity”) builds knowledge and understanding of Somali Muslim culture through music. Midnimo consists of week-long artist residencies featuring Somali musicians from around the world that include public concert performances and activities in the classroom and the community.

Centro de Trabajadores Unidos en Lucha (CTUL) ($5,000)
CTUL is a low-wage worker-led group organizing for fair wages, fair working conditions, and a voice in the workplace for all workers in the Twin Cities.

“Radical Roots” ($4,000)
“Radical Roots” is a documentary film that will explore the origins and future of the American natural food movement by uncovering the drama behind its most dynamic center: the food cooperatives of the Twin Cities. It’s a tale of hippies and draft resisters, Black Panthers and organic farmers, and a takeover attempt by a secretive Marxist organization, setting in motion a debate over race, class, health, and democracy.

Hmong American Farmers Association ($5,000)
The Hmong American Farmers Association (HAFA) is a membership-based, social justice minded nonprofit organization that works with Hmong American farmers in the Twin Cities and the surrounding metropolitan area.

Isuroon ($5,000)
Isuroon is dedicated to building Somali women’s self-sufficiency so that they can lead healthier, more productive lives in Minnesota, nationally and in Somalia. Funding will support the creation of an ethnic food shelf serving the Somali Community in South Minneapolis.

Native American Community Development Institute (MACDI) ($4,000)
NACDI is committed to transforming the American Indian community to effectively respond to 21st-century opportunities. Funding will support the launch of the Anpetu Was’te Cultural Arts Marketplace, which will serve as a gateway to the American Indian Cultural Corridor at the Franklin Light Rail Transit Station.

Trans Youth Support Network (TYSN) ($5,000)
TYSN’s mission is to make it possible for trans and gender non-conforming youth to survive adultism, racism, sexism, and economic injustices in systems they must engage with in order to get basic needs met. Funding will support a youth leadership development program.

Waite House Neighborhood Center ($4,000)
Waite House’s Community Culinary Arts program embodies Seward Co-op values and vision around P6 principles through training young chefs for careers and life, including a 10-week apprenticeship with Executive Chef Austin Bartold, through which young people learn how to promote food justice in a commercial kitchen.

WE WIN Institute ($5,000)
WE WIN Institute is dedicated to the academic and social success of all children. This funding will support our summer Youth Gardens enrichment program.

(SCF recipients are announced at the annual meeting in October. The deadline for applications each year is June 30.)

Your local food producers and all the Twin Cities’ food co-ops would like to invite you to a day out on the farm.

Join us on Saturday, July 19 to explore the local food world, visit with your farmers, and see your food from their perspectives. The Eat Local Farm Tour, now in its fourth year, provides an opportunity for you to connect with land and people who grow and make your food.

You will find the scenery on the farms in the countryside to be picturesque; rolling hills, lush green land and happy cows. Your urban farm tour could include some fun folks on bikes in bee costumes that will lead you to the sweet honey and bees that produce it for you. You get to decide how you best want to connect to your food. Consider packing a picnic lunch for your family and taking in the beauty of the countryside. The co-ops also welcome you to stop by for lunch. You don’t need to be a member to shop at the co-ops, and you will find many of the foods that you saw in the fields on your co-op’s shelves. It’s that fresh!

Confirmed on this year’s tour are: Kohnert Organic Farms, East Henderson Farm, Cedar Summit, L and R Produce, Simple Harvest Farm Organics, Thousand Hills, Ferndale Farm, Humble Pie Farm, Bossy Acres, Singing Hills Goat Dairy, Gardens of Eagan, WEI, 10th Street Farm & Market, Big River Farm, Whistling Well Farm, Shepherd’s Way Farm, Star Prairie Trout Farm, Growing Lots, Beez Kneez, and Stone’s Throw.

Stay connected to the Eat Local Farm Tour and meet other tour attendees before the big day by following the tour’s Facebook page. Seward Co-op will have hard copies of the Tour Guide on hand in the store on June 26.

The local season is beautiful, tasty, but oh-so brief. The Twin Cities co-ops truly hope you’ll join us for an expedition of food, farms, and the Minnesota landscape on The Eat Local Farm Tour.