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.

On June 14, Natural Sea announced a voluntary recall of its fish fillets with whole wheat breading due to the potential presence of undeclared milk. This recalled product has been removed from the shelf at both of our stores. Between March 16 and June 14, 2017 Seward Co-op may have sold product affected by the recall.

Natural Sea–fish fillets with whole wheat breading–$6.49
8 OZ
UPC: 4256300220
Use by date: 9/02/18

If you purchased this product at Seward Co-op between March 16 and June 14, 2017, it will be fully refunded at either our Franklin or Friendship store Customer Service desk.

Our annual Know Our Grower series continues as our growing season thrives. Know Our Grower is an opportunity to connect shoppers with the talented group of local farmers producing our food and sample recipes that allow their flavors to shine. Visit the Seward Co-op website often this summer to read about our featured Know Our Grower producers and get more information.

Spark-Y serves its mission of youth empowerment through three branches: school programs, an annual internship, and an urban agriculture lab. Collectively, these branches serve over 1,000 youth annually. Spark-Y imparts concepts of sustainability and entrepreneurship through hands-on projects such as aquaponics, vermicomposting, greenhouse farming, mushroom cultivation, and more.

Stop by the Friendship store Sunday, June 25 from noon-3 p.m. to chat with folks from Spark-Y Youth Farm and to sample their microgreens, spinach, and sorrel.

In trying times, when it feels like people are growing further and further apart, it is more important than ever to hold onto our cooperative roots and continue to build strong communities centered on community ownership and democratic control.

Towards the end of June, for the first time, Seward Coop will welcome Federation of Southern Cooperatives (FSC) board member and farmer Ben Burkett. Burkett will make the journey to Minnesota in a semi-truck, brimming with ripe, ready-to-eat red-seeded and seedless watermelons, to share with many local cooperative grocery stores including Seward, Eastside, River Market (Stillwater, Minn.), St. Peter (St. Peter, Minn.), and Hampden Park (St. Paul). A huge thank you is in order to Cooperative Partners Warehouse for handling local distribution. Register to attend the event here.

Seward Co-op and the Federation of Southern Cooperatives are both proud members of the Domestic Fair Trade Association. At this event, hear about efforts to build supply chains dedicated to fairness and equity.

FSC was founded in 1967, to assist in the economic development of Black farmers and the rural poor who had been discriminated against by the USDA and failed by the Farmers Home Administration (a program designed to improve the income of small farm owners but initially excluded Black farmers). In 1973, Bob Browne formally organized the Emergency Land Fund (ELF) out of concerns generated from the Black Economic Research Center around the pace at which land in the Black community was being lost and encroached upon. The peak of Black land ownership in the United States came in 1910, and there has been a steady decline ever since. Eventually, in 1985, the FSC merged with the ELF to become the Federation of Southern Cooperatives/ Land Assistance Fund.

FSC’s education program supports reclaiming traditional and ancestral knowledge of growing and providing food for families and communities—skills many farmers were forced to abandon due to the shift to industrial agriculture and a U.S. trade policy that economically favored corporate agriculture. Today, many FSC farmers grow their produce using integrated pest management (IPM) practices in an effort to reduce the use of synthetic chemicals. Avoiding conventional practices maintains soil and water health and improves the nutritional quality. IPM products are grown within a system of agriculture that coordinates the use of pest and environmental information with pest-control methods to prevent pest damage in the most economical fashion with the fewest detriments to people, property and the environment. This approach primarily relies on nonchemical means, such as controlling climate, food sources and building entry points.

This new relationship that Seward Co-op has forged with FSC has been a long time coming, and it is in complete alignment with our Ends Statement. Through this partnership, we will be able to build stronger relationships with more Black farmers and further diversify the regions of the country from which we source our produce during the off-season. Buying from fellow cooperative producers and farmers allows us to support cooperative economic development and build commonwealth.

Photos courtesy of Monica White

The average American creates between four and seven pounds of waste every day. Seward Co-op, however, remains ahead of the curve with our commitment to creating a healthier environment.

Beginning June 1, the co-op will charge 5 cents per paper bag provided at check out. We will continue to give 10 cents per bag to customers who bring in their own bags (on up to five bags per transaction). This is a practice we have had for several years. Our Scorecard states that in 2016, we gave back $37,000 to customers using reusable bags. That’s 370,000 disposable bags kept out of the waste stream!

The impact from changing behavior patterns can be significant. A plastic bag tax levied in Ireland in 2002 has led to a 95% reduction in plastic bag litter there. A study by San Jose, Calif., found that a 2011 ban led to a reduction in bag litter of 89% in the storm drain system, 60% in creeks and rivers, and 59% in the city streets and neighborhoods. And it’s not just plastic bag waste. There are issues with paper bags, as well. One of the reasons for the .05 cent charge is to discourage customers from shopping with disposable bags. Here are a few facts about paper bags, and why reusing bags is a great choice.

1. The U.S. cuts down 14 million trees a year to supply the raw material to make paper shopping bags.
2. It takes 13% more energy to make a single paper bag than to make two plastic bags.
3. Paper bag production involves the use of chemicals and high temperatures, and it releases toxins into the atmosphere at nearly the same rate as plastic bag production.
4. Paper bags weigh almost 10 times as much as plastic bags, meaning that more fuel is required to ship them to stores.
5. Despite being highly recyclable, only 20% of paper bags end up being recycled, while the rest share a fate with their plastic brethren.
6. In landfills, paper bags create more than twice as much atmospheric waste as plastic bags do, so they’re not necessarily a better choice for the environment.

We are optimistic that together we can decrease the amount of waste in our city. Seward Co-op has several styles of reusable bags available for purchase around the store. Together our efforts will contribute to the co-op’s ongoing commitment to sustain a healthy community that has positive environmental impacts.

Seward Co-op Creamery Café once housed the historic Franklin Co-op Creamery Association almost 100 years ago, and is now home to the one-and-only cooperative restaurant in the Twin Cities. The restaurant serves as the front to the co-op’s much larger food production facility. The bustling kitchen is responsible for churning out all of the Seward-made sausages, baked goods, and deli grab & go items available for purchase in the stores. The Café opens daily at 8 a.m. with dinner service Wednesday through Saturday until 9 p.m. Stop in at your leisure, either on your own to enjoy one of our seasonal special or some hand-dipped Sonny’s ice cream, or with friends to share a pitcher of Minnesota beer or a bottle of wine on our new patio.

The Seward Co-op Creamery Café team works around the clock to serve dishes with integrity and compassion. Our dedicated staff takes the time to learn where your food is coming from, how it’s grown, how the animals are treated, and what the impact is of getting all of the ingredients from the farm or producer to the plate. We create fairly-priced, nourishing dishes, sourced from socially-responsible farmers and producers. We offer everything from simple sustenance to more creative dishes and hope you’ll share a meal with us this summer!\

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.