On April 17, Traditional Medicinals announced a voluntary recall of its Throat Coat Lemon Echinacea Tea. An ingredient within this product tested positive for Salmonella in the samples retained by the supplier. Salmonella was not detected in Traditional Medicinals testing of this lot or in this product. However, out of an abundance of caution, they are recalling this product. No illnesses have been reported to date. Seward Co-op does not currently have affected product on the shelf, but could have sold affected product between Jan. 30—April 17, 2018.

Traditional Medicinals
Throat Coat Lemon Echinacea Tea
UPC: 3291700159
Lot Number: 19482

If you purchased this product at Seward Co-op between Jan. 30—April 17, 2018, it will be fully refunded at either our Franklin or Friendship store Customer Service desk.

Take Action: call Governor Dayton and ask for his commitment to VETO any packaging preemption bills.

Seward Co-op opposes preemption on single-use packaging fees and sustainable to go food containers. We’ve joined a large community of neighbors, local officials, environmental justice activists, public health advocates, businesses, and restaurants to stand together and oppose legislative measures seeking to prohibit cities’ authority to reduce packaging waste. (See full list of coalition members at right.)

• Eureka Recycling
• Seward Community Co-op
• Women’s Congress for Future Generations
• Environment Minnesota
• Minneapolis Climate Action
• Sierra Club North Star Chapter
• Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy

Seward Co-op supports the City of Minneapolis regarding ordinances like Green To Go and in any efforts that encourage more sustainable choices. We believe that the State should not revoke municipal movements towards environmental sustainability. Join us by asking MN Governor Mark Dayton to veto packaging preemption bills no matter where they show up. Cities should have the ability to respond to the needs of their community members and that includes regulating unsafe/unhealthy packaging and products that can harm people in their communities and their environment. Based on what we learned last year, we anticipate these measures to be added to omnibus bills that will be passed by the House and Senate, so we need the Governor’s commitment to oppose these measures.

Please call Governor Dayton and ask him to veto ALL packaging preemption bills: 651-201-3400

SF 3253/ HF 3814 would prohibit a fee on single-use bags or any problem food, beverage, or food/beverage packaging, but also prohibits going to the legislature to ask for a tax (money that would go to the city to support programs like litter cleanup) on problem food, beverages, or food/beverage packaging. We are expecting this will show up in the tax omnibus bill.

HF 3606/ SF 3135 would prohibit the regulation of single-use food and beverage containers and would overturn Minneapolis and St. Louis Park’s “to-go” packaging ordinances as well as not allow a city to place a fee on single-use bags. This bill has passed through the House Government Operations and Elections Policy Committee and we are watching for where it goes next.

Seward Co-op’s primary partner in this legislative advocacy is Eureka Recycling. Please reach out to Allison at Seward: 612.436.4043 or Megan at Eureka: 612-490-2900 with questions.
Thanks for joining us!

On March 15, Izzy’s announced a voluntary recall of Maple Nut ice cream pints because their nut distributor cross contaminated walnuts and peanuts. Seward Co-op does not currently have affected product on the shelf, but may have sold it between Dec. 16, 2017—March 16, 2018.

Izzy’s Maple Nut ice cream pints, $7.79, with the following lot numbers:

18012729
18024706
18025206
18028806
18020312
18028819
18020327

If you purchased any of these products at Seward Co-op between Dec. 16, 2017—March 16, 2018, they will be fully refunded at either our Franklin or Friendship store Customer Service desk.

Construction season is upon us in Minnesota, and this year the Bryant-Central neighborhoods are no exception. In March, the 38th Street Bridge closed and is scheduled to reopen mid summer 2018. We’ve provided detour routes for bicycles and cars below. We aren’t letting a little construction get us down, and neither should you—take the scenic route and check out the great locally-grown foods Seward Co-op has to offer!

At Seward Co-op, we are enthusiastic about locally grown and made products that will delight customers. Seward Co-op’s Ends Statement, or mission, compels us to support economic development right here in our community, oftentimes yielding a higher quality of living. When money is kept recirculating within a cooperative community, as opposed to flowing out of our food shed, the local economy is strengthened. We prioritize locally made, organic, fair trade, and other products that meet the unique needs of co-op owners, as well as partnerships with businesses owned by historically underrepresented populations. However, before our staff can even consider bringing in a new product, it must be compliant with the Food and Drug Administration. What does it take to prepare a food or wellness item for selling at retail stores like Seward Co-op? Minnesota has many food production regulations that impact food producers, processors and distributors. These regulations are varied and can be difficult to navigate for folks trying to bring their product to the market. One of the primary rules in food production requires it to be produced in a commercial kitchen.

Some local entrepreneurs opt to use a community commercial kitchen, sharing space with other producers. Community kitchens are typically available for rent to the public and act as an incubation facility for smallscale product manufacturers and beginning food entrepreneurs, to perfect their work and learn from peers.

The power of community formed through producing food at a local food hub or community kitchen has ignited hope for local farmers and small-scale producers! Going the food production path alone is difficult, and it’s helpful to be surrounded by others who understand because they are experiencing a similar situation. Many community kitchens and food hubs rent space on a sliding scale or cover the cost of product liability insurance or food manager certification. When local farmers and producers come together to share common space and time, great things happen naturally—relationships and new partnerships form, and opportunities to collaborate and cross-pollinate become obvious!

Seward Co-op has begun the countdown to spring! Starting your garden from seed and then watching it mature from seedling to fruiting plant can be rewarding, economical, and fun. Considering Minnesota’s relatively short growing season, it can be beneficial to start seeds indoors in spring to give plants a head start before transplanting them in to your garden. Each plant has its own unique growing requirements and therefore its own timeline. Refer to Seward Co-op’s Seed Guide, as a resource for when to start seeds indoors and transplant outdoors.

Browsing Seward Co-op’s seed racks, surrounded by fresh-cut flowers and an abundance of fragrant citrus, can make the experience of picking out the seeds for your garden inviting—many of the potential options look so delicious and interesting! However, before you get whisked away by the idea of it all, learn more about Seward Co-op’s seed offerings to determine which brand aligns more with your values and is best for the vision of what you hope to accomplish with your garden—High Mowing Organic, Seed Savers Exchange, or a combination of the two. Is your primary concern the health of your family, or is it more broad to include environmental biodiversity or healthy habitats for pollinators? Learn more about our unique seed producers’ intentional cultivation practices to the right.

Now, the fun part—make a list of all the crops you desire to grow and plot them out to create a feasible plan for your space. We recommend marking a calendar with the dates to start and transplant different crops, using the chart provided on the back-side of our Seed Guide. Please note some root crops, such as carrots, beets and radishes do not tolerate transplanting. For more home gardening information and resources, please visit the University of Minnesota Extension website.