Local produce season will be peaking very soon—when almost everything is available to us, from spring vegetables like herbs and radishes to winter crops such as cured onions and squash. And of course there’s the fruit; we will soon see local peaches, melons, and then apple and pears.

If you look around Seward’s produce departments you will see staff pick signs letting you know which produce staff members are enjoying, and I’d like to take this opportunity to share my favorites! As a produce buyer for over 10 years, I’ve developed relationships with many local farmers and farm groups and I’ve eaten the best they have to offer. Some of my “picks” include:

• Wheatfield Hill’s sweet corn arrives early and stays around late in the season, consistently delivering sweet and plump kernels.

  

• Hmong American Farmers Association (HAFA)’s okra and ground cherries—coming soon!—Local okra is the only kind to eat and HAFA’s Indian variety is firm and velvety.

  

• Hearbeet Farm’s beets and greens—These beets are pristine and available from June all the way through April. Char, collards, and kale are all perfect staples to have in your diet!

• Featherstone Farm’s kale and sungold cherry tomatoes—Some of the largest bunches of kale I’ve ever seen are grown at Featherstone. Their sungolds are bright and sugary-sweet every time.

• Wisconsin Growers Co-op provides the first local watermelon of the season, and they can’t come soon enough! As the season progresses we will see between seven and ten different varieties.

  

• Sin Fronteras’ tomatillos—coming soon!—Simply roast and blend into salsa verde for a refreshing summer dip!

• Partner Farms’ peaches are dynamic, lively, fresh, and juicy. Cinderella Plums are my absolute favorite stone fruit and Seward Co-op will be the only place in town that has them. Don’t delay, once these arrive they won’t last long!

All of the local farms Seward buys from are certified organic, growing organically, or using high level integrated pest management practices. You can be assured that you’re getting the freshest, most nutrient dense, and most cared for local produce available.

Now that weather is warming up, Seward Co-op would like to encourage shoppers to bike to the co-op whenever possible.

And we want to make it worth your while to make the extra effort. Pick up a “Cycle Perks” sticker at Customer Service to wear proudly on your helmet or bicycle. Along with this sticker, you’ll also receive a special punch card, which you can have punched for any purchase at Seward Co-op. A full card of 10 punches will enter you into a monthly drawing for a $50 gift card at Seward Co-op!

Additionally, every year the co-op contributes financial support to a different bike-related organization.

On June 15, GoMacro issued a recall of a limited number of MacroBars and Thrive Bars due to the possible presence of Listeria monocytogenes, an organism that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections amongst young children, the elderly, those with weakened immune systems, and pregnant women. At this time, no illnesses have been reported due to this recall and no affected product was found on shelves at either store. However, between March 15 and June 15, 2017 Seward Co-op may have sold product affected by the recall.

Thrive Bars—Chocolate, Nut and Sea Salt $1.99
1.4 OZ (40g)
UPC: 853555006504
Lot Codes: 3569, 3576
Best By Dates: 2/6/2018, 2/9/2018

Thrive Bar –Caramel Coconut Caramel Coconut $2.19
size: 1.4 OZ (40g)
UPC: 853555006528,
LOT Codes: 3568
Best By Date: 2/6/2018

If you purchased this product at Seward Co-op between March 15 and June 15, 2017, it will be fully refunded at either our Franklin or Friendship store Customer Service desk.

Here at Seward Co-op, we take pride in working directly with local farmers, processing whole carcass animals in-house, and having a large variety of fresh, Seward-made sausages. We work directly with many small local farms that we have had the opportunity to visit and see firsthand how the animals are raised and handled. Check out our new seasonal sausages (left)!

Have you tried the Franklin Frank? Summer is the perfect time, if you haven’t already. Our sausage makers have handcrafted the perfect old-fashioned hot dog! It’s made in our own production facility on Franklin Ave. The ingredients are 100% locally sourced and the herbs and spices are all organic—no filler. Stop by our full-service meat counter and pick up some dogs to grill at the park! Or have us grill it to perfection for you at the café, topped with house-made pickles, onions and mustard. Get creative and check out our amazing selection of locally made condiments. Kimchi, sauerkraut, pickles, mustard, hot sauce—we have it all!

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE COMMUNITY FOODS PROGRAM

The new juice bar at the Friendship store is now open! Now, both Seward Co-op stores are equipped with a complete drink bar designed to quench your thirst no matter what you’re craving. Smoothies, juices, coffees, teas, and hot cocoa are available daily from 8 a.m. until 9 p.m. Juices and smoothies are available in two sizes. You can customize any juice or choose from the house favorite blends on the menu.

We only use organic produce from Co-op Partners Warehouse (CPW) in our juices and smoothies. Year-round our bananas and chocolate are Equal Exchange. During the peak avocado growing season (typically from Nov. to May) these are too. For over 15 years, CPW has supported sustainable farming practices and increased the region’s accessibility to organics. Today, the warehouse stocks between 200 and 500 organic products daily, many of which are produced by family-run businesses in Wisconsin and Minnesota.

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.

Seward Co-op’s decision to endorse the Minneapolis $15/hour minimum wage ordinance is rooted in our cooperative goal of creating equitability in the economy. Our Ends Statement says that we will sustain a healthy community with equitable economic relationships. We believe the current minimum wage of $9.50 is insufficient and is not equitable in our community.

Our goal is to pay our staff a living wage. A significant piece of the co-op’s pricing strategy is based on pay equity. Others businesses in the food industry do not have that goal. Seward Co-op established a living-wage model for its staff in 2006. We are committed to taking that model a step further.

Cheap food is promoted in the food system at the peril of food system workers. One of the key factors contributing to cheap food is the fact that food workers earn disproportionately low wages. As a co-op, we have been working for more than four decades to change that. We hope that this endorsement will provide a framework through which to discuss who is hurt by a cheap food system and the real cost of food.

We believe it is important to raise the minimum wage in order to address exploitation in the food industry. We believe that one way to do that is to pay everyone, from farmers to food chain workers, a fair wage.

Last September, the Seward Co-op Board of Directors asked General Manager Sean Doyle to determine the feasibility of increasing the starting wage at Seward Co-op to at least $15 per hour. This was in response to a proposal before the City of Minneapolis to raise the minimum wage over the course of the next few years until it reaches $15 an hour in 2023. Over the past several months, significant analysis and discussion has occurred among staff at the co-op. We’ve determined that a change to our starting wage over the next few years is viable.

We are working with 15 Now MN, a local organization advocating for an increase in the minimum wage. They are leading the Minneapolis campaign to increase the minimum wage over the next five years to $15 hour in 2023. Representatives from 15 Now MN will also be at the Seward Co-op CSA Fair on Saturday, April 22, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., in the Franklin store parking lot.

For more information on 15 Now and the $15/hr. minimum wage ordinance, as well as the co-op’s current wage scale and other questions, please read the FAQ.

Spring has sprung­–the days are getting longer, the temperatures are rising, and the birds have returned to the Upper Midwest! It’s an exciting time in produce, and though it’s hard to believe, our first deliveries of local tomatoes, cucumbers, basil, and spring greens have arrived from P6 farmers, Living Waters Gardens, Living Greens Farm and Way of Life Gardens! You may be scratching your head, wondering how this possible, as many of us haven’t even gotten our hands dirty in the garden yet. Hydroponic and aeroponic agriculture is the reason for the early season folks!

Seward Co-op’s hydroponic and aeroponic growers are rare in that they use organic and integrated pest management practices. Hydroponic is defined as the cultivation of plants by placing the roots in liquid nutrient solutions rather than in soil. Aeroponics, the lesser known practice involves a plant-cultivation technique in which the roots hang suspended in the air while a nutrient solution is delivered to them in the form of a fine mist. Not many organic certifying agencies certify hydroponic or aeroponic crops because they are not grown in soil and soil health is a major component of organic agriculture.

Using hydroponics, Living Waters Gardens is able to supply Seward Co-op with thousands of pounds of local tomatoes long before the agricultural growing season begins. The water used during cultivation is the secret ingredient behind their delicious produce. It tends to have high levels of iron, which cause frustration when it builds up and clogs the irrigation system, but it yields a tasty and nutrient-dense tomato. To keep the greenhouses at the perfect temperature between 70–85F., Living Waters Gardens partners with an organization that collects, bundles, and delivers pallets to be burned that would otherwise end up in a landfill.

The peak times to buy hydroponics are in the spring and fall; before and after our local growing season. Science and technology can be very fascinating and our local producers are using these techniques to their advantage to stretch the local season while also cultivating nutritious, sustainable produce.

Spring has sprung­–the days are getting longer, the temperatures are rising, and the birds have returned to the Upper Midwest! It’s an exciting time in produce, and though it’s hard to believe, our first deliveries of local tomatoes, cucumbers, basil, and spring greens have arrived from P6 farmers, Living Waters Gardens, Living Greens Farm and Way of Life Gardens! You may be scratching your head, wondering how this possible, as many of us haven’t even gotten our hands dirty in the garden yet. Hydroponic and aeroponic agriculture is the reason for the early season folks!

Seward Co-op’s hydroponic and aeroponic growers are rare in that they use organic and integrated pest management practices. Hydroponic is defined as the cultivation of plants by placing the roots in liquid nutrient solutions rather than in soil. Aeroponics, the lesser known practice involves a plant-cultivation technique in which the roots hang suspended in the air while a nutrient solution is delivered to them in the form of a fine mist. Not many organic certifying agencies certify hydroponic or aeroponic crops because they are not grown in soil and soil health is a major component of organic agriculture.

Using hydroponics, Living Waters Gardens is able to supply Seward Co-op with thousands of pounds of local tomatoes long before the agricultural growing season begins. The water used during cultivation is the secret ingredient behind their delicious produce. It tends to have high levels of iron, which cause frustration when it builds up and clogs the irrigation system, but it yields a tasty and nutrient-dense tomato. To keep the greenhouses at the perfect temperature between 70–85F., Living Waters Gardens partners with an organization that collects, bundles, and delivers pallets to be burned that would otherwise end up in a landfill.

The peak times to buy hydroponics are in the spring and fall; before and after our local growing season. Science and technology can be very fascinating and our local producers are using these techniques to their advantage to stretch the local season while also cultivating nutritious, sustainable produce.

As we approach the 50th anniversary of Earth Day in 2020, we acknowledge that the movement has had its ups and downs, but today Earth Day has the largest secular observance in the world. More than one billion people celebrate each year, and it is truly a day of action that changes human behavior and provokes policy change. Let’s work to keep this momentum going in 2017.

The story of Earth Day begins in 1962 with Rachel Carson’s book, “Silent Spring.” Her book sparked awareness and concern for living organisms and got people thinking about the links between pollution and public health. Eight years later, Gaylord Nelson, a former U.S. senator from Wisconsin, witnessed the devastation of the 1969 oil spill in Santa Barbara, Calif., and took action. Inspired by the student-led anti-war movement, he spearheaded the idea for Earth Day. The first Earth Day on April 22, 1970, was very successful and led to the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency and the passage of the Clean Air, Clean Water, and Endangered Species Acts.

In the spirit of Earth Day, we challenge you to make a small behavioral change that can have a big impact: rid your home of any chemical-ridden cleaning products you may have, and make the jump to cleansers made with nontoxic, biodegradable ingredients. For information on disposing of hazardous household cleaners, visit the Hennepin County website. We hope you find that homemade cleansers can be just as effective as their conventional counterparts and easier on the wallet too! The co-op has high standards for the cleaning products found on our shelves. We do offer pre-mixed options, but many shoppers experiment with do-it-yourself recipes for everyday household cleaners. Check out the recipes below for our toughest, heavyduty DIY spring cleansers.