Our cheese department recently had a wonderful visit to Holland Family Farms in Thorpe, Wisconsin! This is about as good as it gets in the cheese world. The weather was picture perfect for a farm tour and dining alfresco.

Marieke makes raw milk Gouda with Rolf’s milk from the Penterman Farmstead. Even though the Pentermans are extremely busy folks, they rolled out the red carpet for Seward Community Co-op!

Marieke spent the entire day demonstrating how cheese is made and telling us all how she learned the art and science behind these delicious wheels. Rolf educated us on how their happy cows are cared for in the barn and we even got to hang out with the calves. They are both originally from the Netherlands and Marieke’s Goudas are the most decorated in the United States.

The Pentermans met in Canada while Rolf was (literally) searching the world over for the perfect place to start a dairy farm. Marieke apprenticed at several cheesemakers in Holland to refine her craft and has trained two other female cheesemakers in Thorpe, both of whom have earned their cheesemaker’s license!

We were allowed to enter the make room at the creamery, which is truly a rare treat. The milk was starting to solidify as we met all the cheese making assistants. We were encouraged to feel the gelatinous vat before the curd cutting began. The hooping and pressing of wheels was also timed perfectly for our visit. Marieke personally showed us the caves for aging wheels and we even waxed some of the wheels ourselves.

The Pentermans knew that they had really made it when folks back in the Netherlands began ordering Gouda from the Upper Midwest! The hundreds of ribbons throughout the retail store suggest that most of her incredible Goudas are still enjoyed domestically.

It’s tough to share these phenomenal cheeses with the rest of the world, but we plan on keeping plenty at the Seward Co-op cheese counter for many years! Thank you Marieke and Rolf for this amazing visit and hospitality.

As co-op shoppers, we are presented with a multitude of choices in the grocery store—we have choices around fresh or frozen, we have dietary choices, sourcing choices and choices around ready-made or raw ingredients.

What I learned participating in Hennepin County’s Zero Waste Challenge is that as we choose which products are best for our households, we also choose the packaging our food comes in. Rice, for example, can be purchased in a cardboard box, plastic bag, in bulk, or even cooked at the deli counter.

If you find yourself wrestling with how to cut down your household waste, here are a few things to consider as you shop grocery aisles that are full of choices.

Remember containers—Consider keeping a stock of reusable bags and containers in several places to never miss the opportunity. Keep some by the back door, in the car or in your desk at work. It’s harder to forget them when they are everywhere! And remember, “reusable bag” does not mean you have to buy something new to serve this purpose sometimes “reusable” is last week’s plastic bag, rinsed, dried and used again for today.

Stick to your list—Shop your cupboards first and then make a shopping list. Sticking to it minimizes impulse purchases or overbuying and cuts down the likelihood of wasted food. There are some great shopping list apps, like Google Keep, that allow you to collaborate with other household members as well!

Shop bulk aisles first—Seward Community Co-op offers bulk oils, nuts, clays, spices, beans, household cleaners, teas, dried fruit, shampoo, grains, pasta and baking ingredients galore! Did you know you can buy laundry detergent in bulk? You can use your own containers for all of these items, and if you do need a bag, take a look at your options first. In addition to plastic bags, our staff stocks paper bags for dry ingredients and hard plastic tubs for wet ingredients that can be reused or recycled through residential collection. Shopping in bulk also allows you to buy recipe ingredients in exact amounts. Trying something new with unfamiliar ingredients? Bulk offers a great way to test a small amount before committing to a large container’s worth and reduces the potential of wasted excess ingredients.

Ask yourself:

• How many different ways can I buy this product?

• Is there a waste-free option?

• Or is there an option that uses recyclable packaging?

Produce strategy—Resist the temptation of using a plastic produce bag. That melon will be OK loose
in the cart. If you forget your reusable bag and need something to put a pound of cherries in, think of all
those container options we stock in the bulk section and choose the best material for the job.

Consider packaging material—Glass, paper and aluminum are easily recycled curbside. Plastics are tricky. Some plastics are not recyclable (chip bags
or vacuum seal) and others require special handling (plastic bags). When able, opt for packaging that can be recycled or reused. Glass tomato sauce jars make excellent food storage containers, for example!

Check the math—Buying products in the largest possible container not only reduces waste, but often it also saves you money. The price per unit can
drop as volume goes up. Run the numbers on your favorite yogurt for the different sized options. The cost savings may surprise you.

While there are a lot of different ways to reduce waste, take comfort in knowing there is no “right way” to go about it and we don’t have to be perfect each and every time we shop. Picking and choosing the efforts that make the most sense in our lives and performing them some or most of the time can all add up to significant environmental impact.

Watch our fall class schedule for a Low-Waste Grocery Shopping class. Check out Hennepin County’s Zero-Waste Challenge program: www.hennepin.us/zerowastechallenge.

For tips to reduce food waste, visit www.savethefood.com.

Taking part in #PlasticFreeJuly? Visit www.plasticfreejuly.org for more information and tips.

Mary Phelps is a Hennepin County Master Recycler/Composter. This article appeared on pages 9-10 of the Sprout! Summer 2018 issue.

Seward Community Co-op’s Board of Directors is seeking candidates for the 2018 board election. If you feel committed to the cooperative business model and want to ensure the long-term success of our co-op, please consider being a candidate. The election will be held in October, ending at the Annual Meeting on Oct. 30. In order to receive a Board Candidate Application, attendance was required at a board meeting and a candidate information session this summer. Applications are due Wednesday, Aug. 29.

Prior to each of the summer meetings, the board held a Candidate Information Session beginning at 5:30 p.m. Board meetings officially call to order at 6:15 p.m. The last opportunity to attend and receive an application was Tuesday, Aug. 28.

Aug. 28: Sabathani Community Center, Target Banquet Center, 2nd floor

Click here for more information about the board of directors generally. Please email board@seward.coop for further information about the upcoming meetings and this year’s election.

Small farms and producers throughout Minnesota and Wisconsin welcomed visitors on Saturday, July 14, during the Eat Local Co-op Farm Tour.

Thank you to all who participated! We look forward to more food, activities and exploration next year.

Follow us on social media to check out photos and videos from the tour. We’ll also continue to feature the producers we work with year-round.

This year, there were more than 30 urban and rural farms with exciting new activities like yoga on the farm, blueberry picking contests, farm disc golf, beer tasting and pick-your-own flower bouquets.

This annual event is FREE and brought to you by your local community food co-ops, including Seward Community Co-op.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has proposed a rule for nationwide labeling on genetically engineered foods — but we need something better.

Public comments, from food eaters like you, will be extremely important. Comments were due to the USDA by July 3, 2018.

We’ve been telling the USDA to:

• Use common, well-established labeling terms. The USDA proposes using a new term — “bioengineering” — not the terms “genetic engineering” or “GMO,” despite their acceptance for over 30 years by consumers, companies and regulators.
• Require neutral symbols. The symbols proposed by the USDA appear to be biased toward genetic engineering, or “bioengineering.”

  
  Symbols should be content-neutral and easy to understand, like a circle with “GE” or “GMO” inside it.

• Reject QR codes and other discriminatory options for on-package labels. These methods are discriminatory against 100 million consumers who do not have smartphones or reliable internet connections. Other label claims are required to be printed on packages.
• Include all processed foods produced with genetic engineering. Many foods are so highly refined that some tests may not detect GE material in the final product, even though they undisputedly were produced with GE.
• Ensure future foods made with newer forms of genetic engineering are covered. The USDA must ensure any foods made with new forms of genetic engineering — such as synthetic biology, gene-editing and RNAI — are required to be labeled.
• Harmonize with the European Union standard. Required labeling of foods with a 0.9 percent threshold of GE content aligns with accepted global standards, has been adopted by many U.S. companies, and would encourage, not hinder, global trade.
• Demand disclosure now, not postponed until 2022. Waiting four more years would be an unreasonable delay. Many companies already are labeling without disruption or burdensome costs.

How to comment:

Formal comments were due July 3 on the Regulations.gov website.

An easy way to get involved is to visit the Just Label It website and sign the petition to the USDA calling for consumer-friendly GMO labeling regulations.

Thank you for standing up for fair and transparent labeling!

We love Farm Bill season—everyone is buzzing about a few of our favorite topics: farmers, organic food and access to healthy, nutritious food for everyone. It’s also a fertile opportunity to roll up our sleeves and dig into democracy by contacting our elected officials.

Weeding through this densely packed legislation is no small feat (for us or for Congress), so we’re highlighting a few of the things we are most happy about in the Senate Agriculture Committee’s Farm Bill. In short, this is a big moment for organic agriculture. The grassroots agricultural movement farmers and organic fans started decades ago is coming into its own. Some of the key organic programs we have advocated for many years are set to achieve baseline funding this year! Baseline funding means the programs are much more likely to be included in the annual budget cycle.

Read on for the details—and if you’re as excited as we are—take a moment to call your lawmakers in Washington D.C. and ask them to support the Senate’s version of the Farm Bill that champions organic! It’s easy to call, just dial the U.S. Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121 and provide information about where you live, they’ll transfer your call accordingly. Your call will be routed to an actual phone inside your lawmaker’s actual office—and their offices are pretty tiny. Everyone in there knows when a constituent is calling and they want to hear from you!

Organic agricultural research fully funded to support farmers

The demand for organic food has experienced off-the-charts growth, which is great news for U.S. farmers. Organic is a bright spot in agriculture right now—it is one area that is bringing new people into farming careers and it is making small-scale family farming possible again.

But organic farming is not just as easy as making a decision to stop using pesticides—it takes training and access to resources and education. Farmers have to learn new methods of soil management, pest control and animal care, just to name a few. The Organic Agriculture Research Extension Initiative (OREI) in the Farm Bill helps to ensure that best practices and current technology gets shared with farmers through university agriculture extension offices across the country.

The Senate’s version of the bill would establish stable baseline funding for OREI by increasing funding from $20 million to $50 million per year by 2022. We are asking Congress to support this goal in the final bill.

Organic Certification Cost Share Program fully funded to help farmers go organic

The USDA Certified Organic seal is the gold standard of food labels and reflects hard work and careful adherence to agreed-upon standards for what makes something “organically grown.” Farmers are responsible for getting their farms certified each year by a third-party inspector and certifying agent, and for a small farmer, it can be expensive or even cost-prohibitive.

The Organic Certification Cost Share Program offsets some of the costs of organic certification for farmers that qualify. This assistance can be enough to encourage small and beginning farmers to transition to organic, which in turn boosts our country’s homegrown supply of organic food.

The Senate’s version of the bill fully funds the Organic Certification Cost Share Program! Join us in asking Congress to support this in the final bill.

Bonus: Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive (FINI) Grant Program boosts access to fresh, healthy food

Not necessarily an organic program—but one that is close to food co-ops’ hearts, the USDA FINI grant program funds projects that make fresh fruits and vegetables affordable to people who participate in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), with a priority on projects that focus on locally grown produce.

Not only does this make the freshest, most delicious produce more accessible to more people, it has the added benefits of supporting local farmers and supporting local business. And if you shop at a food co-op, a lot of that local produce is likely to be organic.

Many farmers markets and food co-ops have made great use of FINI grants to establish programs that double SNAP shoppers’ dollars when they are spent on fresh fruits and vegetables (see Willy Street Co-op’s Double Dollars Program), and many more co-ops are eager to get these programs started.

Although the FINI grant gets the ball rolling, co-ops have demonstrated that these programs can be successfully self-sustained once implemented, making the grant money an excellent investment towards making healthy food affordable for all.

The Senate’s version of the bill would fully fund the FINI grant program at $50 million annually. We love fresh fruits and veggies and want more people to have the same opportunity. We are asking Congress to support this funding in the final bill.

What’s most important to you?

We’ve highlighted just a few of the things food co-ops are excited to see in the Senate’s version of the 2018 Farm Bill, but there are many other important programs and ideas in this bill that are worthy of support. Explore some of the links below and find out what inspires you to act. Just like farming, what we care for and attend to grows—adding your voice helps cultivate a stronger democracy.

• Support the National Organic Standards Board and transparency in organic rulemaking
• Homegrown Organic Act (in the Senate and House)
• Local FARMS Act (in the Senate and House)
• Organic Farmer and Consumer Protection Act (in the Senate and House)
• Organic Farmers Access Act
• Seeds for the Future Act (in the Senate and House)

Find out what bills about food and other issues Congress is considering by visiting www.govtrack.us.

Article by National Co-op Grocers (Co+op, stronger together).

Seward Community Co-op is accepting donations as part of Alaffia’s Eyeglasses Drive now through July 31.

The glasses can be dropped at the Wellness or Customer Service desks at either co-op store. Find the donation boxes or ask a staff member.

Alaffia’s Empowerment Projects aim to address vital areas for the self-empowerment of the people of West Africa while fostering a sense of community and commitment to sustainable practices. The Empowerment Projects are maternal care, education, reforestation, and eyeglasses.

For Alaffia’s Eyeglasses Project, Alaffia collects used eyeglasses through the efforts of customers and retail partners around the U.S., including Seward Co-op. Alaffia hires an optometrist in Togo to correctly fit and distribute eyeglasses. In Togo, there are very few optometrists and eye exams cost as much as one-month’s wages and a pair of eyeglasses four-month’s wages, according to Alaffia.

Learn more at www.alaffia.com.

Seward Community Co-op would like to thank all who rounded up at the registers in May to support Walk-In Counseling Center as part of the co-op’s SEED program.

Kuzala Macaroons approached the co-op to partner on May’s SEED donation. The Minneapolis company donated a portion of profits from co-op sales in May to benefit Walk-In Counseling Center.

Kuzala Macaroons co-founder Christopher Dark joined co-op and Walk-In Counseling Center staff at the Seward Co-op Creamery Café on June 14 to help present the donation and celebrate this new partnership.

Walk-In Counseling Center in Minneapolis provides free, no-appointment, anonymous mental health and crisis counseling in English and Spanish.

According to Walk-In, the SEED donation “will support keeping our free services available, meeting increased demand and raising awareness around mental health.”

Learn more about Walk-In Counseling Center at walkin.org.

Seward Community Co-op staff will be marching in the 2018 Twin Cities Pride Parade at 11 a.m. on June 24 along Hennepin Avenue North in Minneapolis with six other Twin Cities food co-ops, including Eastside, Hampden Park, Lakewinds, Mississippi Market, Valley Natural and Wedge/Linden Hills.

Watch for our banner that will say “Twin Cities Food Co-ops Proud to Support Pride.” We’re passing out Co-op Proud stickers.

Join us and the greater LGBTQIA community as we celebrate and promote inclusion and equity for all. Share your Pride photos on social media with hashtag #CoopPride!

The parade begins on Hennepin Avenue and 3rd Street in downtown Minneapolis and ends near Loring Park. As parking can be difficult, we recommend carpooling, public transit, biking, or walking.

Highway construction on I-94 and I-35W near downtown Minneapolis may affect travel routes and times; please plan accordingly.