On June 19, EPIC Provisions announced a voluntary recall involving all production dates and flavors of EPIC Animal Oil products. This recall is being issued because of a production issue that has the potential to cause a food safety risk. Consumers are advised to destroy any products in their possession that are included in this recall. These products are carried at both stores and have been removed from the shelves and destroyed. Affected products were sold from December 2016 through the present at both stores. All lot codes and best by dates are potentially impacted by this recall.

EPIC Cage-Free Traditional Duck Fat $9.99
UPC: 85466000602

EPIC Pastured Pork Lard/Fat $9.99
UPC: 85466000601

EPIC Grass Fed Beef Tallow $9.99
UPC: 8546000600

If you purchased this product at Seward Co-op between December 2016 onward, it will be fully refunded at either our Franklin or Friendship store Customer Service desk.

We are excited for the annual Eat Local Co-op Farm Tour coming up on Saturday, July 15 in partnership with Twin Cities area co-ops.

The Eat Local Co-op Farm Tour was created to showcase local farmers that bring local food to our tables. Each year, the tour highlights Minnesota farms, allowing the general public to meet directly with local producers to learn more about our food system and the importance of eating local.

“We’re proud to be a sponsor of the Eat Local Co-op Farm Tour,” says Tom Vogel, Marketing Manager for Seward Co-op. “We aim to sustain a healthy community, and part of that includes connecting our customers to the farmers that produce the food that they eat.”

Additional sponsors of the event include Lakewinds Food Co-op, Wedge Community Co-op and others. The event takes place on Saturday, July 15 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and is free to the public. Visitors are encouraged to map out their self-guided routes. You can see a map of the farms here.

To see a list of participating farms, visit seward.coop/news/calendar or the Eat Local Co-op Farm Tour Facebook page.

Join us at the Seward Co-op Creamery Café for a dinner event with special guest, Eric Kreidermacher of Pork & Plants Heritage Farm in Altura, MN. Along with their beautiful produce, we’ll feature the farm’s heritage-breed Red Wattle pork in several different preparations. Beverage pairings from Fair State Brewing Cooperative and Sweetland Orchard are available for an extra $15. Tickets are limited; reserve your seat at the “Farm Table” right away!

Three-course dinner: $40
Drink pairing: $15

Pork & Plants Heritage Farm in Altura, MN provides us with Red Wattle, a distinctive heritage breed. The Red Wattle pig is a domestic breed originating in the United States and is named for its red color and distinctive wattles, or tassels. These pigs are not fed any soy; instead they are fed high-protein corn and peas. This method of feeding allows them to develop a unique and delicious creamy fat. All of the feed that they eat is grown organically on the same farm. Although the farm is not certified organic, Pork & Plants’ farming standards are so high that it stands out among other producers.

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.

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.

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.

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

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