Seward Co-op has been named a Sustainability Star by National Co+op Grocers (NCG) for excellence in our sustainability efforts. The award recognizes food co-ops that demonstrate outstanding leadership by making a positive impact on social, environmental and local economic issues.

At its annual meeting in April, NCG honored Seward Co-op for its commitment to positive environmental impacts and improving sustainable practices where possible, particularly in the area of waste management. Seward Co-op’s three business locations recycling and compost efforts divert approximately 85% of waste from landfill or incineration.

Like all Sustainability Star award winners, Seward Co-op participates in Co+efficient, NCG’s sustainability program that helps co-op grocery stores measure their impacts, drive improvements, and share the story of their important work with community members and other co-ops. This marks the second year that NCG has highlighted co-ops by awarding Sustainability Star honors. Seward Co-op is one of 10 co-ops nationwide recognized for their 2016 performance.

We are proud to share our successes and draw community attention to the many challenges facing ethical and sustainable food production and distribution in an inclusive socially responsible manner. In the last two years, we have expanded our diverse workforce to more than 330 employees earning a living wage.

The cooperative sector has long been an innovator in sustainability. Earning Sustainability Star recognition shows that Seward Co-op is leading the way, not only by excelling in our sustainability pursuits, but by sharing the details and result of our efforts for the benefit of co-ops and communities around the country.

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.

In 2009, Seward Co-op began offering plastic bag recycling to our shoppers and owners. In 2010, we stopped offering plastic grocery bags at the checkout lanes. These changes were motivated by our Ends Statement to champion “positive environmental impacts.”

Nearly two-thirds of the plastic film Seward Co-op collects is brought to the stores by our customers, and we think it’s great that so many shoppers are committed to recycling this material. Recently, however, the hauling vendor associated with this program discontinued their route. Due to this, we have come to the difficult decision to discontinue plastic bag collection at our stores. The program will end at both grocery locations on March 15, 2017.

Don’t be disheartened—there are still ways to recycle plastic bags! Several Hennepin County and private businesses accept this material. Alternative drop-off sites are listed above and near the collection bins. We advise that you call drop-off facilities for their hours of operation before making the trip.

Tuesday, Feb. 14

This Valentine’s Day, treat your sweetheart at the co-op! On Tuesday, Feb. 14, the dining areas in both the Franklin and Friendship stores will be decorated with table linens and fresh flowers. We’ll also offer bouquet wrapping at both store locations between 1 and 5 p.m. You may also choose to wine and dine your valentine at the Seward Co-op Creamery Café.

In fall, when the weather turns cool, one of my favorite things to do is roast squash. Not only is it one of the easiest things to cook, the many varieties of squash provide the pallet with dramatic distinction and subtle nuances. I would have to say, two of my favorite varieties are spaghetti and delicata squash. Spaghetti squash, when roasted to perfection, is slightly sweet, tender and succulent. Many people like to use it as a pasta substitute, but I prefer to savor it simply with butter, salt, and pepper. Delicata squash could also be called the dessert squash, because it’s so creamy and brown sugary sweet. I like to cook smaller squash, such as delicata, by placing the whole thing in the oven and roasting at 375 degrees F until the skin is crispy and the squash is fork tender.

Winter squash varieties are some of the most versatile and festive vegetables of the fall harvest. Which one will you fall in love with this season? They are planted in the summer, picked and cured in the fall, and keep well into the winter. These delicious and nutritious seasonal vegetables vary in flavor and texture. Winter squash can be roasted whole; halved and baked; sliced or cubed, and then boiled, steamed, mashed, stir fried, or made into soup. You can season squash with butter or oil, salt and pepper and herbs, or sweeten it with maple syrup, honey or sugar. Here is a guide to help you experiment with many of the winter squash varieties you may find in Seward Co-op’s Produce department.

Seward Co-op’s Guide to Winter Squash

In fall, when the weather turns cool, one of my favorite things to do is roast squash. Not only is it one of the easiest things to cook, the many varieties of squash provide the pallet with dramatic distinction and subtle nuances. I would have to say, two of my favorite varieties are spaghetti and delicata squash. Spaghetti squash, when roasted to perfection, is slightly sweet, tender and succulent. Many people like to use it as a pasta substitute, but I prefer to savor it simply with butter, salt, and pepper. Delicata squash could also be called the dessert squash, because it’s so creamy and brown sugary sweet. I like to cook smaller squash, such as delicata, by placing the whole thing in the oven and roasting at 375 degrees F until the skin is crispy and the squash is fork tender.

Winter squash varieties are some of the most versatile and festive vegetables of the fall harvest. Which one will you fall in love with this season? They are planted in the summer, picked and cured in the fall, and keep well into the winter. These delicious and nutritious seasonal vegetables vary in flavor and texture. Winter squash can be roasted whole; halved and baked; sliced or cubed, and then boiled, steamed, mashed, stir fried, or made into soup. You can season squash with butter or oil, salt and pepper and herbs, or sweeten it with maple syrup, honey or sugar. Here is a guide to help you experiment with many of the winter squash varieties you may find in Seward Co-op’s Produce department.

Seward Co-op’s Guide to Winter Squash

Thanks to all who joined us at the Seward Co-op Creamery Café on Sunday, Oct. 9, for the ice cream social with Sonny’s Ice Cream. We couldn’t be more excited to partner with this family-owned business that continues to churn small batches of ice cream made with fresh, whole ingredients the way it has been made since 1945. Now that the Creamery is open again, let us reintroduce ourselves with new weekly specials beginning Wednesday, Oct. 19.

Date Night

Saturday Nights

$50 per couple

Choose the perfect beverage to sip — beer, wine, coffee, tea or a bottled beverage from our drink cooler. For starters, share a small plate or one of our appetizer-size side dishes. Your choice of two entrees from the following for the main course: salmon, soba noodles, burger and fries, or our beet Reuben and fries. Save room for dessert! You can choose one of our daily scratch-made bakery items to split. If you have a hard time deciding, please don’t hesitate to ask one of our knowledgeable staff for a recommendation.

Happy Hour

End the week with happy hour at the Seward Co-op Creamery Café!

Wednesday–Saturday, 3–5 p.m.
Enjoy $1 off:

• Side dishes
• Small Plates
• Pints of local craft beer
• Glasses of wine

Owner Appreciation Day

As a token of our appreciation for our engaged ownership, all Seward Co-op owners receive 15% off their order every Thursday.

Live Music

Please join us for live music from 6­–9 p.m. beginning Saturday, Oct. 22. Here is the upcoming schedule:

• Saturday Oct. 22 — Van Nixon, a talented vocalist and musician specializing in Reggae with years of experience performing solo and in multiple bands.
• Saturday, Oct. 29 — Nicolas Garcia, a solo acoustic guitarist specializing in original instrumental cinematic folk songs.
• Saturday, Nov. 5 — Will King is a Minneapolis-born classical and flamenco guitarist, composer and teacher with influences from Spain and Latin America.

We are writing to share that the Seward Co-op Creamery Café has reopened. Going forward, the café will be open Sunday–Tuesday, 8 a.m.–3 p.m., and Wednesday–Saturday, 8 a.m.–9 p.m. We’ve taken the community’s feedback to heart and used it to guide the vision for the new café. Chef Katie Nielson has finalized the menu that features familiar favorites, as well as several new dishes that will range from vegetarian sandwiches to rotating fresh burger flavors to classic brunch fare. Please find the full menu here. Sonny’s Ice Cream, located in Uptown, will be providing hand-dipped ice cream, and we will continue to make our own housemade vanilla soft serve and rotating fruit sorbet flavors. Please stop by soon to welcome our new addition to the Seward Co-op family!

Seward Co-op is issuing a voluntarily recall of its Chicken Italian Sausage Links because they have the potential to contain bone fragment. Between Feb. 3, 2016 and Feb. 24, 2016, Seward Co-op sold the product affected by this recall at both the Franklin and Friendship stores.

Seward Co-op Chicken Italian Sausage ($8.99/lb.)
Links, approximately 1/3 pound per piece
UPC: 00207316xxxxx

If you purchased any of the above products at Seward Co-op between Feb. 3, 2016 and Feb. 24, 2016, recalled products will be fully refunded at either our Franklin or Friendship store Customer Service desk. Questions may be directed to Seward Co-op’s Franklin store at 612.338.2465 or Friendship store at 612.230.5595.

If you’ve been in the store or followed us on social media, you may have noticed it’s Avocado Month at Seward Co-op. We purchase our avocados from Equal Exchange, who sources them from a grower cooperative in Central Mexico. Equal Exchange’s mission is to build long-term trade partnerships that are economically just and environmentally sound, to foster mutually beneficial relationships between farmers and consumers, and to demonstrate, through success, the contribution of worker cooperatives and Fair Trade to a more equitable, democratic and sustainable world.

Equal Exchange partners with Pragor, a progressive group of small-scale avocado farmers in Michoacán, Mexico. Farmer members of Pragor were some of the first in the area to transition to organic in the early ’90s. Together they do the daily work of navigating this dangerous area and try to find solutions to problems with growing, packing and exporting.

Seeing the Equal Exchange brand on an avocado (or a banana) guarantees a customer that their fruit is sourced from a small farmer receiving a fair price for their fruit. It’s not just a better wage, it’s a better way of life. Farmers own their own land and are helping to rebuild their own communities through hard work and enterprise. It also guarantees that the grower cooperatives are working directly with the Equal Exchange produce team, not through a third party like the majority of farmers and plantations in the produce industry.