Update on the Eden Foods issue from Seward Community Co-op

Background

Eden Foods produces 70+ packaged organic products and has been an exemplary member of the natural foods community for over four decades.

Last year, Eden Foods’ CEO Michael Potter filed a lawsuit against the Obama administration, challenging its ability to compel Eden Foods and other privately held businesses to cover birth control with Eden Foods’ employee benefits. That lawsuit was dismissed by the Sixth Circuit Court last year.

The issue resurfaced in July 2014, however, when the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) ruled in favor of Hobby Lobby, a company that had filed a very similar lawsuit to CEO Michael Potter’s.

In the aftermath of the SCOTUS ruling, the Second Circuit Court is currently reviewing Michael Potter’s suit from last year.

At Issue

Many Seward Co-op owners and shoppers have written Seward or commented on Facebook and Twitter, saying that in light of Eden Foods’ Michael Potter’s actions, the co-op should consider removing Eden Foods products from our shelves. These customers argue that Eden Foods has proven itself discriminatory against women and conducting business contrary to Seward Co-op ideals.

Seward Co-op’s Response

Seward Co-op does not have a boycott policy, which means, we don’t boycott product because we have no policy to guide us on how to do that. We’ve told customers through our comment system and via social media to “vote with your dollars,” and if Eden Foods products stop selling well, we’ll stop buying them.

We tracked product movement in July, and Eden Foods sales have indeed slowed down (specific numbers in Sean Doyle’s letter posted below). Several Eden Foods’ products whose sales have slowed considerably have been discontinued altogether.

Sean Doyle, Seward Co-op General Manager, wrote to Eden Foods’ Michael Potter to express sharp disagreement with his position and to express deep concern about Eden Foods’ future.

The text of the letter is posted here for Seward owners and shoppers to read.

Text of Seward General Manager
Sean Doyle’s Letter to Michael Potter

Dear Mr. Potter:

For over four decades, Eden Foods has been a unique brand for natural foods co-ops. Your products have been a mainstay on our packaged grocery shelves, your company has been a stalwart ally in the fight for strong USDA organic standards, and you’ve been an industry leader in the use of BPA-free lined cans. As a result, Eden Foods products have enjoyed a welcome place on shelves here at Seward Co-op.

Unfortunately, your decision to go forward with your case against Health and Human Services in the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals has opened Eden Foods to harsh scrutiny and review at Seward Co-op. This political action on your part has opened our cooperatively owned business to criticism and scrutiny as well. We are accused of supporting a business that violates a fundamental human right.

As a result, I’m writing as the general manager of Seward Co-op and a longtime purveyor of your product to ask you to reconsider your decision to adjudicate your opposition to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and to accept that it is the decision of female employees to decide on their own reproductive choices. Many owners and customers of Seward have informed us that they feel the co-op is complicit in a human rights violation by selling Eden Foods. They cannot understand why we would sell products from your company when our mission reads:

“Seward Co-op will sustain a healthy community that has equitable economic relationships; positive environmental impacts; and inclusive, socially responsible practices.”

In short, they’ve asked us to discontinue selling your brand. Since April 2013, we’ve received 59 written customer comments expressing this sentiment and far more comments on the sales floor and through various social media platforms. This represents more comments than Seward Co-op has ever received related to products we sell.

Since Seward Co-op doesn’t have a boycott policy, when pressed to drop Eden Foods we’ve told customers to “vote with their dollars” — and they have. In the week immediately following the Supreme Court’s Burkett v. Hobby Lobby decision, sales of Eden Foods products dropped by 12%. When we compare the four weeks since the decision to the same period last year, Eden Foods sales have dropped 15%. These are sales that we have lost as well.

I assume you’re experiencing similar decreases in sales. Consequently, I’m writing on behalf of the nearly 12,000 households that own Seward Co-op to strongly urge you to reflect carefully on the impact your political decision is having on the natural foods market you’ve supported for so long. Eden Foods may not be the largest organic foods manufacturer in the world, but I believe that your role in this market is unique. Your actions are impacting not only the employees of Eden Foods and Seward Co-op shoppers, but they also affect Seward Co-op employees and our ability to conduct business. Worse, your actions will impact small organic farmers and food producers, as well, because they too will suffer from lost sales. It would be a tragedy if your political decision put some of these farmers out of business.

I hope you will consider the impacts that your decision has had, drop your lawsuit against Health and Human Services, and fund insurance coverage for contraception for all of your employees. I hope you’re heeding market realities and that you’ll take action to prevent ongoing damage to Eden Foods.

I look forward to hearing from you at your earliest convenience in regards to Eden Foods’ future.

Cooperatively,

Sean Doyle
General Manager
Seward Community Co-op

Eden Foods’ response to this letter can be read here.

Seward Co-op has reached $2.5 million in owner investments!

This is a huge achievement for the co-op and an example of cooperation among our co-op community. Although we’ve hit the $2.5 million mark, there’s still time to contribute to the co-op’s expansion projects. You can still invest in the co-op though an owner loan or a purchase of Class C stock at the Customer Service desk. Contact Jill Livingston, Seward Co-op’s Capital Campaign Coordinator, for more information.

You did it, Seward owners. You picked your co-op up on your backs and carried us into the next phase of our growth. Thanks to everyone who bought a t-shirt, purchased Class-C stock, or wrote a loan to Seward.

THANK YOU!!

A common criticism about the organic and sustainable food market is that prices are too high. As a small store, Seward Co-op cannot correct market realities single-handedly, but we do believe in making economic relationships in our co-op as equal as possible.

To that end, we created Nourish, a multifaceted program aimed at making healthful foods and co-op ownership more accessible for everyone.

Nourish is for YOU, if you:

• Want to save money shopping at Seward Co-op;

• Would like to cook great recipes that feed four—for $10 or less;

• Would like to attend free “Nourish 101” classes to discover healthier eating; and

• Value simple living and getting back to basics.

We want to welcome folks to Nourish especially if you…

• Receive federal dollars for groceries, and/or

• Want to buy ownership to the co-op but live on a very limited budget.

Here’s how you can take part in Nourish:

• Pick up a list of Nourish Staples (available at Customer Service) showing all the Nourish items in the store.

• Look for the white-on-green Nourish “N,” highlighting Nourish staples. These are some of the best values for your dollar.

• Try a Nourish recipe. These are easy to make, feed four, and are priced under $10 (under $15, if the recipe includes meat.)

• Check out seward.coop’s calendar for opportunities to sample Nourish recipes at the store.

• Sign up at Customer Service for a Nourish class or check the website to see which classes are available. They’re free for everyone!

• All co-op shoppers who have financial need may apply for our everyday needs-based discount of 10% (previously 5%). Visit Customer Service to apply.

Construction on the new Seward Co-op Friendship store will be starting soon. Anyone who is interested in learning about the construction project, and the requirements and qualifications needed for construction employment, is invited to attend this information meeting.

When: August 12, 2014, at 3 p.m.

Where: Sabathani Community Center, 310 E. 38th Street, Minneapolis 55409, in the second floor gym.

If you cannot attend, Click for more information in:

English
Somali
Spanish

Open Streets Mpls: Franklin Ave E

Sunday, August 17, 10 am-4 pm

Seward Co-op is a Street Sponsor of Open Streets Mpls: Franklin Ave E. We’ll be selling brats and celebrating with Zipp’s, Harriet Brewing, Chef Shack and Du Nord Craft Spirits with music and libations! You can also visit us in front of the Co-op Creamery building on 26th Street, where we’ll be selling T-shirts and providing samples, activities, and information on the expansion.

On Saturday, July 12, 2014, from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., Seward Community Co-operative will celebrate the groundbreaking of its new South Minneapolis store, to be located at the corner of 38th Street and 3rd Avenue. The special event will include notable guest speakers, live music, and, of course, delicious food for attendees.

“We’re excited to celebrate this milestone. It’s a strong testimony to community that we’re able to start this project.” Seward General Manager Sean Doyle said. “It’s been a lot of hard work. We’d like to break ground and break bread with everyone who helped us along the way.”

The new store will be called the “Seward Co-op Friendship Store.”

The event will begin with a brief ceremony commemorating the history of the Greater Friendship Missionary Baptist Church building and neighborhood, followed by guest speakers, music by local bands, and a ceremonial groundbreaking for the new store. This will be followed by more music and refreshments, including brats, lemonade, and other lunch items. All Seward owners, investors, staff, and residents of the Bryant-Central neighborhood are welcome to attend.

Schedule:

10:30–11:15 a.m. – Ceremony

10:30–10:40 a.m – Opening blessings
Jim Rock, First Nations Blessing
Pastor Billy Russell, Greater Friendship Missionary Baptist Church
Iyanifa Ifayonka Songobisi Asafo, United Temple of Ifa/Orisha/Vodun

10:40–11 a.m. – Order of speakers
Minneapolis Councilmember Elizabeth Glidden (Ward 8)
Minneapolis Councilmember Alondra Cano (Ward 9)
State Representative Karen Clark
State Representative Jeff Hayden
State Representative Susan Allen
Inez Walton, longtime neighborhood resident
Madeline Kastler, Vice President, Seward Co-op Board of Directors
Sean Doyle, General Manager, Seward Co-op

11–11:15 a.m. – Groundbreaking
Distribution of Hard Hats & Shovels
Groundbreaking photos

11:15 a.m.–1:30 p.m. – Food, music, fun

The Friendship building will be smaller than the original Franklin Avenue store but will have a full selection of products. The store will be open to 38th Street and Clinton Ave. with many windows allowing natural light, a seating area, and a classroom. The building’s colorful exterior will add to an already vibrant neighborhood.

The Seward Co-op Friendship Store will be a full service grocery. It’s slated to open in late summer 2015.

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.

In May, Seward Co-op shoppers made a bold statement: They raised more SEED money in a single month than ever before.

Seward shoppers rounded up to give $18,470.35 to the Sabathani Community Center food shelf in May, the largest single month of fundraising in the history of Seward’s SEED program!

The co-op is very pleased that Seward’s community to stepped up like this, since Sabathani will be our nearest neighbors when the new Seward Co-op Friendship store opens next year. Sabathani’s mission is:

“To provide people of all ages and cultures with essential resources that inspire them to improve their lives and build a thriving community.”

Seward is VERY pleased our shoppers recognized that Sabathani’s mission is so similar to our own.

We hope this is the start of a beautiful friendship, Sabathani!

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…