Thank you to everyone who attended the 2017 Annual Owner Meeting. This year’s meeting was held at the University of Minnesota in the Great Hall of the Coffman Memorial Union. Seward Co-op owners enjoyed live music by Kenn Wanaku and David Stenshoel, a performance by Appetite for Change, and an engaging conversation led by Diversity and Community Engagement Manager LaDonna Redmond Sanders and guest chef Tunde Wey regarding the true cost of food. We ended the night by welcoming two new directors—Vina Kay and Filiberto Nolasco Gomez and congratulating Lenny Nelson on re-election. Full election results are available here. Photos from the evening are available on our Facebook page.

As we reflect on fiscal year 2017, which ended June 30, Seward Co-op has a lot to celebrate as an organization and community of owners.

We invite everyone to become a co-op owner through multiple payment options and a needs-based discount:
• 18,253 total owners
• 1,850 new owners

We hire staff who reflect the neighborhoods in which we operate:
• 58% of staff reside within 1.5 miles of our locations
• 35% of staff identify as people of color
• 15% of staff are multilingual

We prioritize and promote giving back to the community:
• $297,913 raised in SEED donations
• $71,241 given in the form of grants, donations, and sponsorships
• 465 paid employee community service hours

We contribute to a more equitable economy by offering quality products through intentional sourcing:
• $20.8 million in P6 (small-scale, locally produced, and/or cooperative enterprise) sales, or 46% of sales.
• A total of $2.7 million fair trade products sold.

We source products that minimize negative environmental impacts:
• $17.6 million in organic product sales, or 39% of sales.
• $19 million in local product sales

We offer products that are accessible and affordable:
• $1.1 million in SNAP and WIC transactions
• $390,346 in needs-based discounts
• $2.1 million in Nourish products sold

We operate using 35% less energy compared to industry norms:
• 80% of all Seward Co-op waste is recycled.

Nordic Naturals believes omega-3s are ideal nutrients for children of every age. Beginning before birth, and throughout our lives, each of us needs these essential fats, but few of us ever come close to consuming enough. For school-aged children in particular, experts recommend omega-3 DHA to maintain optimal growth and development.

Meet with representatives from Nordic Naturals to see why
“Omega 3s Are For Every Body.”
Enjoy 30% off all Nordic Naturals products during the popup events at our respective stores:

Saturday, Aug. 26 at the Franklin Store
Sunday, Aug. 27 at the Friendship Store

Nordic Naturals fruit-flavored omega-3 products are developed with children’s unique needs—and tastes—in mind. All our omega-3 products come from 100% wild-caught fish, and most of our products formulated for kids are derived exclusively from Arctic cod, a great source of DHA. Fresh, pure, and potent, our omega-3s are always made with the safest and most sustainable non-GMO ingredients, and surpass all major standards for quality.

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.

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.

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.

Thank you to Seward Co-op owners and customers who donated to the emergency SEED round up over the weekend of Feb. 10–12. The round up to assist the victims of the recent Little Earth fire was a great success. Customers donated $3,559 and the co-op contributed an additional $1,000 for a total of $4,559.

On Jan. 28 the Little Earth of United Tribes community experienced a fire that rapidly spread to six homes and displaced six families. These families lost their housing and all of their belongings. SEED funds will go to the Little Earth Residents Association to assist the impacted families as their homes are restored.

Those interested in contributing to help those impacted by the fire may continue to do so at Little Earth’s GoFundMe site.

Thank you to everyone who came out to celebrate the anniversary of the Friendship store and the annual meeting. The family-friendly event was held in the parking lot of the Friendship store in the same location as the ribbon cutting one year ago. We are thankful that the rain held off and a chili supper could be shared by community members. Seward Co-op owners and shoppers danced together as Friendship store Manager on Duty, Jerry Williams and his band, Sultry Soul performed. Check out some of the photos from the event on our Facebook page. As the Friendship store enters into its second year, we have a lot to celebrate.

• Store sales have been better than projected.
• As of October, 2,235 ownerships were sold at the Friendship store.
• The Friendship store employs 56% staff of color.
• 55% of Friendship store staff live within 1.5 miles of the store.
• 75% of Friendship store staff are full-time and eligible to receive benefits.
• The Friendship store pays a living wage of $12.82/hour to staff who have worked 2,000 hours.

Integral pieces of the annual meeting is the announcement of the board of directors election results and the release of the 2016 Scorecard, our annual report. Congratulations to Mehdi Kennar, Jill Krueger, Gregory Lee and Migdalia Loyola! Together with five others, these individuals are responsible for articulating the vision and goals for Seward Co-op that management pursues and achieves. The 2016 election featured a pool of highly qualified candidates. Thank you to all who ran and all who voted.

During the business portion of the meeting, the upcoming 2017 SEED recipients were also announced. For more than 40 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 cafe bill for recipient organizations that share our commitment to a healthy community. Congratulations to our 2017 SEED recipients!

Sin Fronteras (Without Borders) is a Stillwater, Minn-based family-farm growing fresh, healthy Latino food. Farmers Eduardo Rivera and Madeline Shaw bring to the Twin Cities sustainably grown – and at times challenging to find – varieties of chile peppers, tomatillos, and epazote along with familiar roots, greens, and herbs. These foods can be found at area coops and restaurants, the Linden Hills Farmers Market, and through a culturally appropriate Latino CSA. Look to their Facebook page (Sin Fronteras Farm & Food) for recipes using Sin Fronteras produce.

Summer Squash

Did you know summer squash is not really a vegetable? The many varieties of summer squash are a type of “pepo”, or hard-walled berry that are harvested while the rind is still tender and edible. Summer squash is in season now and we are carrying at least five varieties (green and gold zucchini, crookneck, zephyr-my personal favorite for its sweetness-, patty pan, and calabacita, a small tender zucchini). Wisconsin Growers Co-op, Featherstone Farm, Heartbeet Farms, and Sin Fronteras are delivering these squash multiple times each week. Select firm, unwrinkled, evenly shaped squash and store in your crisper drawer.

Sin Fronteras

Sin Fronteras (Without Borders) is a Stillwater, Minn-based family-farm growing fresh, healthy Latino food. Farmers Eduardo Rivera and Madeline Shaw bring to the Twin Cities sustainably grown and at times challenging to find varieties of chile peppers, tomatillos, and espasote along with familiar roots, greens, and herbs. These foods can be found at area coops, the Linden Hills Farmers Market, and through a culturally appropriate Latino CSA. Look to their Facebook page for recipes using Sin Fronteras produce.

Wisconsin Growers Co-op

Wisconsin Growers Co-op was founded in 2006 to help 20 families maintain ownership of their farms. Its members are dedicated to the idea that if farmers take “good care of the soil, the soil will pay back with high-quality produce.” This mindset has proven effective; Wisconsin Growers often brings us produce all year long, from greenhouse radishes at the first sight of spring clear around the calendar to over-wintered parsnips. The key to the longevity of their growing season are labor-intensive, fossil fuel-free farming methods. On nearly 40 acres of the co-op’s land, these farmers plant, tend, and harvest crops exclusively using horses, horse machinery, and hand tools. In addition to more popular produce items such as potatoes, onions, and radishes, the Wisconsin Growers Co-op offers unique heirloom squash varieties, such as Queensland blue and Long Island cheese.

Featherstone Fruits and Vegetables

Featherstone Fruits and Vegetables started in 1995 as Jack Hedin and Jenni McHugh’s five-acre garden at the Zephyr Valley Land Co-op near Winona, Minn. Since then, the farm has relocated to land near the town of Rushford, Minn., and now employs nearly 50 people working on over 250 acres of optimal vegetable-growing ground. Beginning in late May with leaf lettuce, through a summer’s harvest of zucchini and cherry tomatoes, into winter squash and carrots in the winter, there’s hardly a month that Featherstone isn’t represented in the co-op’s Produce department. The farm is certified organic and is dedicated to creating a truly sustainable agriculture system. That includes geothermal heating and cooling for the packing shed, as well as a solar array that generates about 60 percent of the farm’s energy. Featherstone Farm also operates a large community-supported agriculture program.

Heartbeet Farm

Heartbeet Farm is a family farm owned and operated by Joe and Rebecca Schwen. Located in Zumbro Falls, Minn, the fields that now comprise Heartbeet Farm are the same fields that Joe was raised on and where he learned to farm. Recently, Joe and Rebecca have begun to cooperatively market their produce as Heartbeet Farms along with two nearby small family farms: Easy Yoke and Hare & Tortoise. Working together allows these farms to operate at a scale that enables them to directly interact with the plants, soil, animals, and farm ecosystem while still being productive, efficient, and sustainable. They employ a combination of draft horses, small tractors, woodstove heated greenhouses, and other technologies to grow a wide variety of vegetables. Look for beets, shiso, Hakurei turnips, and many other items from Heartbeet Farms throughout the growing season. All three farms are dedicated to farming in a healthful, holistic, and sustainable way and are certified organic.