As part of its forthcoming “Nourish” program, Seward Community Co-op has raised its store discount from five to 10 percent for Seward shoppers who receive various forms of needs-based assistance. The increase went into effect June 1, 2014.

“We’re very proud to make this higher discount available,” said Seward Co-op’s General Manger Sean Doyle. “It’s part of our overall strategy to make healthy food as accessible as possible through our Nourish program.”

Seward Co-op’s Nourish is a shopper-education program whose motto is “Simple, Healthy Eating.” Offering $10 or less recipes for a family of four, classes on cooking from scratch, and numerous shopping tips for saving money, Nourish is aimed at shoppers looking to make their dollars stretch at the co-op. The needs-based discount is a featured aspect of Nourish.

“Because Nourish is about eating better for less, anyone can benefit from the recipes and classes,” LaDonna Sanders-Redmond, Seward’s Outreach and Education Coordinator, explained, “But the discount portion of Nourish is needs-based.”

Eligibility for the 10-percent discount is based on financial need, which, in turn, is based on shoppers’ individual enrollment in Minnesota Food Assistance/Support (SNAP/EBT), Women, Infant & Children (WIC), MN Care and Minnesota Medical Assistance, or Social Security Disability.

As part of the Nourish program, Seward Community Co-op also offers a needs-based path to ownership. Shoppers receiving various forms of assistance can purchase a new ownership with an initial $15 payment (the remaining $60 is paid with future patronage refunds). As soon as the $15 payment is made, however, the full benefits of co-op ownership begin, including store specials, quarterly discounts, and a vote in upcoming co-op Board elections.

“We don’t think money should be a barrier to shopping or voting at Seward,” Doyle said.

The needs-based discount increase will apply at both Seward Co-op’s current Franklin Avenue store and at the coming Friendship Store, slated to open in summer 2015 in the Bryant-Central neighborhood.

When your thyroid doesn’t function well, it can affect every aspect of your health — depression, energy levels, weight, everything.

Since undiagnosed thyroid problems can dramatically increase health risks, it’s important to understand the complexities surrounding the thyroid. This Saturday at Seward Co-op, you can learn what key nutrients are needed for healthy thyroid function with Dr. Sara Jean Barrett, N.D. (left). Discover what you can do to naturally improve thyroid function and increase your energy, mood, and metabolism.

This is a terrific opportunity if you have questions or concerns about thyroid health. Dr. Sara Jean Barrett is a Naturopathic doctor in Bloomington, MN who treats patients of all ages with a variety of health concerns. Her passion for her practice is demonstrated in the strong relationships she builds with her patients. It’s those relationships that allow her to more deeply identify underlying causes of health issues and provide patients with personalized, natural health care options.

Register at the co-op Customer Service Desk, or get more details about the class here.

Have you ever tried goat before?

Right now, the Seward Meat Department has goat cuts from a new P6-producer Peters Family Farm in Fountain, MN, and we’re very excited for you to give them a try.

“We began raising goats in 2008. We have a 40-acre place,” Travis Peters of Peters Family Farm tells us, “situated on a hillside; the land is perfect for goats. The goats graze mixed grass pastures in season and are fed hay in the winter.”

Erik Sather, Seward’s Meat Depart Manager, says he found out about Peters’ goat farm from Bonnie Austin at Hill and Vale (a very old friend of Seward Meat Department). Travis Peters is a farm hand at Hill and Vale.

When asked about websites or pictures of the farm, Sather said, “Yeah, I don’t think their farm actually has a name. They’re a very small operation.”

“We actually don’t have an official name… other customers have simply listed ‘Peters Family Farm’ or ‘Travis and Jen Peters Goat’ or something similar,” Peters said. “Our farm is truly a family affair, as the kids help my wife (Jen) and I with chores year round.”

And while goat might seem an unusual meat to carry at Seward, the fact is, it’s only unusual in the U.S.. So, for all us Americans, and those of us not lucky enough to be on the Peters Family Farm, here’s the basic 411 on goat:

* Goat is the most widely eaten meat in the world. Seventy percent of red meat eaten worldwide is goat.

* Goat is quite similar to lamb in how it cooks, so you can cook goat all the ways you’re used to cooking lamb: Grilling, roasting, stews, and braising.

* You’ll notice that goat comes in most of the same cuts as lamb: Shoulder, stew meat, ribs, shoulder, etc.

* A key reason Seward Meat Department is excited about carrying this meat is that goats are a far less environmentally destructive livestock than cattle. This is because goats are like Google Chrome: They’re browsers. Seriously, they don’t pull up entire root systems and deplete the soil of nutrient-rich grasses the way cows do when they graze. Also, goats require far less space than cattle. These are small footprint livestock.

* Goat is one of the leanest meats you will ever eat (unless you can get your hands on some ostrich cuts). Chicken is twice as fatty, lamb is six times fattier, and pork has nine times the fat of goat.

So come and get your goat from Peters Family Farm and try the whole world is eating. Below is a recipe with goat meat for you, written by our buddy St. Paul blogger Amanda Paa. She writes the terrific blog Heartbeet Kitchen, (which you should also try!).

RECIPE: Gluten-Free Ravioli with Meat & Ricotta in a Lemon Dill Sauce (Heartbeet Kitchen)

Ten weeks into the capital campaign and we’ve passed the halfway mark with $1,362,750 in owner investments, which represents 52 percent of our goal. Thank you once again to our owners for your support!

At Seward Co-op we have 11,908 (and counting) owners. With $1,137,250 left to raise, if 2,275 owners (roughly 20 percent of our ownership) purchased a single share we would reach our goal. In reality, 141 owners have invested, making the average investment $9,665. Within this context, if 120 owners made the average investment we’d reach our goal of $2.5 million.

We can all positively impact the capital campaign and contribute to the success of our expansion projects. Talk with your friends and neighbors. Direct them to customer service and to me for more information. This is a great way to invest in our co-op, contribute to the health of our economy and our community, and at the same time benefit from financial returns.

by Hannah B., Produce staff

This week a customer asked me if the local spinach we have right now is a different variety than the kind we had last week, because the leaves are so much thinner and flatter, and also somewhat pointed.

Meanwhile, I spent some time researching Vidalia sweet onions to see what makes them different from other sweet onions.

In both of these cases, different varieties could be the answer – but growing conditions are really what have the biggest influence on flavor, texture and appearance of at least these two particular vegetables.

Which begs the question: What do we mean when we talk about growing conditions? It’s the amalgamation of weather, soils, hours of sunlight or anything else that occurs as the plant is growing. In the case of the spinach, it is the lengthening days and, yes, warming temperatures that are causing the changes. I suspect that this spinach was grown in a hoop house, where the temperatures would be quite a bit higher than outdoors. The Vidalia onions are grown in 20 counties in Georgia where the soil lacks sulfur, which means that they don’t develop the heat associated with other onions. We have Vidalias right now-enjoy them while you can, for they are only available for another month or so.

I’ve noticed that vegetables in the early spring are as a rule tender, mild, and very green,ramps being an outstanding exception to the mild rule. I’m not sure what the reason is for this scientifically, but poetically it makes sense that the first edibles to emerge from the soil would be cleansing and easy to eat. Some of the exceptional local products this week areasparagus, zucchini, and watercress-sounds like an excellent salad. Individually, here are some suggestions for quick preparations.

Asparagus is best when the stems are thick-a slender stalk is often starting to become stringy. You should prepare and eat this vegetable almost as soon as you acquire it. When I was growing up, we ate asparagus for every meal as long as it was in season. One way that we dealt with the bounty was to marinate it-steamed, laid in a pyrex baking dish and covered with a vinaigrette, it grew more flavorful overnight.

Zucchini has been coming in small but increasing amounts from Wisconsin Growers for the past couple of weeks. This looks to have been grown in a hoop house-it’s been too cold for zucchini plants to thrive outside yet. Fresh, young zukes should be cooked only briefly to preserve the texture, and with simple seasonings, so you can enjoy the flavor.

The watercress, wild-crafted from clear streams at Keewaydin Farms is the real thing. As the days grow warmer, it can become quite spicy, but this first batch is mild, with a radishy bite. Add it to salads, sandwiches or soups.

We love Kolo Kai ginger and turmeric. It’s not local, but it is fresh. Kolo Kai is an organic farm in Kauai. The farmers, Ben and Colette, harvest the roots to order and then ship it priority mail, so what ends up in our store is never more than a week old. This year, we couldn’t carry it during the winter, because it was so cold that the packages froze on the way to our store. We’re safely past polar vortices, so we’ve resumed ordering it, and wow, the turmeric is the best I’ve ever seen.

Lastly, pint containers of California blueberries have arrived. For as long as I’ve worked here, this has been the signal that the warm months have come to stay. My favorite way to eat them is mixed with Seven Stars yogurt and Nature’s Path heritage flakes. Something about the crunchy flakes and tangy yogurt really brings out the sweetness and juiciness of the berries.

by Hannah B., Produce staff

This week a customer asked me if the local spinach we have right now is a different variety than the kind we had last week, because the leaves are so much thinner and flatter, and also somewhat pointed.

Meanwhile, I spent some time researching Vidalia sweet onions to see what makes them different from other sweet onions.

In both of these cases, different varieties could be the answer – but growing conditions are really what have the biggest influence on flavor, texture and appearance of at least these two particular vegetables.

Which begs the question: What do we mean when we talk about growing conditions? It’s the amalgamation of weather, soils, hours of sunlight or anything else that occurs as the plant is growing. In the case of the spinach, it is the lengthening days and, yes, warming temperatures that are causing the changes. I suspect that this spinach was grown in a hoop house, where the temperatures would be quite a bit higher than outdoors. The Vidalia onions are grown in 20 counties in Georgia where the soil lacks sulfur, which means that they don’t develop the heat associated with other onions. We have Vidalias right now-enjoy them while you can, for they are only available for another month or so.

I’ve noticed that vegetables in the early spring are as a rule tender, mild, and very green, ramps being an outstanding exception to the mild rule. I’m not sure what the reason is for this scientifically, but poetically it makes sense that the first edibles to emerge from the soil would be cleansing and easy to eat. Some of the exceptional local products this week are asparagus, zucchini, and watercress-sounds like an excellent salad. Individually, here are some suggestions for quick preparations.

Asparagus is best when the stems are thick-a slender stalk is often starting to become stringy. You should prepare and eat this vegetable almost as soon as you acquire it. When I was growing up, we ate asparagus for every meal as long as it was in season. One way that we dealt with the bounty was to marinate it-steamed, laid in a pyrex baking dish and covered with a vinaigrette, it grew more flavorful overnight.

Zucchini has been coming in small but increasing amounts from Wisconsin Growers for the past couple of weeks. This looks to have been grown in a hoop house-it’s been too cold for zucchini plants to thrive outside yet. Fresh, young zukes should be cooked only briefly to preserve the texture, and with simple seasonings, so you can enjoy the flavor.

The watercress, wild-crafted from clear streams at Keewaydin Farms is the real thing. As the days grow warmer, it can become quite spicy, but this first batch is mild, with a radishy bite. Add it to salads, sandwiches or soups.

We love Kolo Kai ginger and turmeric. It’s not local, but it is fresh. Kolo Kai is an organic farm in Kauai. The farmers, Ben and Colette, harvest the roots to order and then ship it priority mail, so what ends up in our store is never more than a week old. This year, we couldn’t carry it during the winter, because it was so cold that the packages froze on the way to our store. We’re safely past polar vortices, so we’ve resumed ordering it, and wow, the turmeric is the best I’ve ever seen.

Lastly, pint containers of California blueberries have arrived. For as long as I’ve worked here, this has been the signal that the warm months have come to stay. My favorite way to eat them is mixed with Seven Stars yogurt and Nature’s Path heritage flakes. Something about the crunchy flakes and tangy yogurt really brings out the sweetness and juiciness of the berries.

If it were a “normal” year, by now we’d have lots of local produce: ramps, radishes, a wide selection of tender herbs, watercress, spring mix, etc., etc., etc. But it is gloomy and chilly yet, the trees in Powderhorn Park just barely showing evidence that leaves will exist again. One hundred years or so ago, we’d have been subsisting on sprouting potatoes and sad storage cabbages left over from autumn harvests, so let’s be thankful for the glory that comes our way from California and other southern locations. The red onions, for instance, are back again, and we have lovely stone fruit and melons filling up about a third of the fruit tables. So, while we wait for the sun to come out and warm up our soil, here are a few particularly delicious treats:

Orange honeydew — Personally, I almost always like orange melon better than green, and at this moment honey is an appropriate term of endearment for these fruits. I’m a bit of a purist, because I don’t think any preparation other than cutting and deseeding improves a melon of any kind. That’s my opinion, though, and a lot of people like to fill the hollow of a half melon with yogurt and berries.

Peas— most of the time there are two choices: sugar snap and snow. Snow peas are flatter and often a little less sweet, and sugar snaps are fat with sweet green peas. The latter are quite versatile — sautéed, steamed, or raw are all delicious; while the former are usually used best in a stir fry. A bowl of sesame scallion noodles with slivered peapods sounds great to me today, or actually any day.

Mexican peaches — It’s amazing to me how early we can source peaches. And these are certainly worth eating. They are smaller and paler than the California ones that come into season later in the year, but the flavor is deeper and more concentrated.

English cucumbers — Most of the time these days we have these guys in stock from Living Waters in Wells, Minn. The skin is tender, which means they don’t need to be peeled, but it also means that they lose moisture very rapidly once harvested, which is why they are always wrapped in plastic. I’ve been cutting them into small cubes and combining them with radishes cut similarly in a miso and scallion dressing. Very healthy and spring-like.

Local herbs — Although the supply of herbs at the moment is much lower than normal, we’ve still been getting a few bunches of mint, tarragon and oregano from Wisconsin Growers. Take it as a sign of hope, and mince the tarragon into eggs, throw oregano into the spaghetti sauce, and make some mint tea. More varieties will be coming in soon.

As a final note, let’s talk about the price of limes. It’s high, getting close to $6/lb. This has come up in conversation outside of work, and I’ve seen a few articles about it in newspapers, so it seems appropriate to address the issue. There hasn’t been much domestic production of limes since 2001 when there was a citrus canker outbreak in Florida, the only area of the United States with a suitable climate for commercial lime growing. Now we get nearly 90% of our limes from Mexico, where, this year, there have been significant weather and disease problems, compounded by supply restrictions caused by drug cartels active in the lime-growing regions. For now, it seems that we will just have to tolerate the high prices. I would suggest that lime juice can be mixed with the much cheaper lemon.

With the investments tallied from the first week of May, we officially surpassed one million dollars with $1,116,420 in owner investments. This number is the result of 114 investors and includes a healthy mix of Class C stock purchases and owner loans. With the introduction of the “Grow Together” t-shirt, investments now range from $30 to over $100,000.

This is a fantastic milestone to reach but know that our campaign is ongoing and we continue to work toward our goal of $2.5 million. If you haven’t invested, consider the investment opportunities that Seward Co-op is offering and pick up an investment packet at customer service or by contacting Jill Livingston at 612-314-2012. If you have invested, we encourage you to talk with your friends and neighbors about opportunities for ownership and investment at Seward Co-op. We are grateful to have such engaged and supportive owners. Thank you!

The next time you’re in the big green co-op, go to register lane 4 and you’ll find a display of brand new, crisp and beautiful t-shirts that are brimming with cooperative POWER:

These shirts were designed by Tammy Ortegon, a South Minneapolis artist where she runs the ColorWheel. Ortegon has also been a founding board member of Women Create (a women’s art collective) and SMARTS (South Minneapolis Arts Business Association), and we’re so fortunate to have her expertise for this shirt.

Ortegon’s art on the “Grow Together” t-shirt shows the dynamic community surrounding our co-op at a time when huge things are possible: The Friendship Store, the purchase and development of the Creamery Building, and the capital investment campaign to make these projects happen.

In fact, all proceeds from the t-shirt will go to Friendship/Creamery capital campaign, so buying a “Grow Together” shirt is a two-fer: It’s a terrific way to contribute to Seward’s twin expansion projects AND proclaim your pride in your co-op’s vibrant community.

Learn more about investing in your co-op to make the Friendship Store and the Creamery building project a reality.

If you would like information on these investment opportunities, please check out frequently asked questions here, and request the offering document from Customer Service or by contacting Jill Livingston at 612-314-2012.

To make the Friendship Store and Creamery Building projects a reality, Seward needs to raise $2.5 million by June 30, 2014.

Want to help us do it?

Here’s how:

1. Invest

We’re offering an investment opportunity to Seward’s owners that will make you money while strengthening the financial base of Seward Co-op. We aren’t asking for donations or a handout — these are stocks and loans with a rate of return to you, Seward’s owners.

Our target return on investment for what we call “Class C Stock” is 4%, which many owners have reported is a better deal than their credit unions or banks have been offering.

“Owner loans” are another option and rates vary between 3.5–5.5%. More information is available in the offering summary found in investment packets at the Customer Service Desk in the store. Or, call 612-314-2012 to speak with Jill Livingston, Seward Co-op’s Owner Capitalization Coordinator.

2. Buy a Tammy Ortegon “Grow Together” T-shirt

These shirts are gorgeous, feel great, and cost $30. All proceeds go toward our June 30 goal, so if you already invested or don’t have the funds for such a financial step, buying a shirt and wearing your pride in Seward is a great way to go!

You can find them by Register 4 in the co-op. They’d make a terrific gift, don’t you think??

3. SPREAD THE WORD

See the “share” buttons at the bottom of this post? You can help Seward by spreading the word about our investment campaign on your Twitter and Facebook feeds.

You can share the above pic as a meme on social media, too!

Not big into social media? That’s totally ok. Instead of tweeting, talk up our investment opportunities the old fashioned way at parties, coffee shops, dinners, or at neighborhood social functions.

One last very important way to spread the word. If you have friends who aren’t yet owners of the co-op but who shop here frequently, now would be a terrific time for them to “seal the deal” and join Seward. The more owner-members the better, and, besides, only owners can invest…