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.

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.

For more than 45 years, Seward Co-op has been committed to giving back to our community. In 2011, we introduced SEED, a new way for customers to participate in this commitment. This simple yet powerful community giving program allows customers to “round-up” their grocery or café bill for recipient organizations that share our commitment to a healthy community.

In six short years, we have seen an incredible community impact from SEED. Over the month of April alone, Seward shoppers and owners rounded up a record-breaking donation of $28,472, in support of In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre’s (HOBT) spring MayDay celebration. Thank you Seward Co-op shoppers and owners for the support! The 43rd Annual MayDay Parade and Festival are scheduled for Sunday, May 7, 2017.

MayDay is the biggest, most diverse celebration in South Minneapolis all year, and fifty thousand people will show up for a parade down Bloomington Avenue into Powderhorn Park to celebrate the arrival of spring. A thousand community volunteers will start from scratch, for a 43rd year, to build the giant puppets, masks, and floats for the parade while building a common vision for our future. Celebrate May Day with a made-to-order juice or smoothie from the Friendship store’s new Juice Bar launching Sunday, May 7!

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.