In October, the annual Seward Co-op Board of Directors election will begin. Co-op owners elect the board of directors—one vote per owner. Help maintain our healthy co-op democracy and participate in the direction we take as a community-owned business by casting your vote. The election commences on Tuesday, Oct. 1.

Candidate Forum will be held Oct. 8 from 6-8 p.m. at the Creamery Café. Owners will have a chance to meet and socialize with fellow owners and hear from the candidates before casting their vote. Details on how to register are coming soon!

Voting ends Oct. 22 at the Annual Owners Meeting where the election result will be announced.

Save the date! Open Streets Franklin is Aug. 25.

Come explore local businesses, sample food and enjoy live music during Open Streets Franklin on Sunday, Aug. 25, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.

Seward Community Co-op will be celebrating good food and community at Seward Co-op Creamery Café. Join us! We’ll have Seward-made food for sale under a tent and activities in the street.

Seward Community Co-op is one of the sponsors of Open Streets Franklin 2019. Franklin Avenue will be blocked off from Portland Avenue to 27th Avenue South, opening up the roadway for people walking, biking, rolling and playing.

Thank you to our farmers and to everyone who attended the 2019 CSA Fair on April 27 at Seward Co-op Creamery Café.

Midwest Food Connection offered a seed planting activity for kids and kids at heart. Seward Co-op’s board members staffed the welcome table and talked about their work on behalf of owners.

Huge thank you to Sitka Salmon Shares for partnering with us on a giveback campaign and for donating the fish for our cafe specials. For each Community Supported Fishery share sold through the fair, Sitka donated $25 to Seward Co-op’s April SEED grant recipient, Sexual Violence Center in Minneapolis. With 12 shares sold, Sitka donated a total of $300!

Three farmer talks were livstreamed and featured Emily Hanson of Shared Ground Farmers’ Cooperative, Naima Dhore, a Somali-American farmer who grows certified organic vegetables, and Reginaldo Haslett-Marroquin of Regenerative Agriculture Alliance. View the talks on Facebook now.

Thank you to the vendors and farmers who joined us. If you weren’t able to attend the CSA Fair, farmers may still have some shares available. Visit their websites to learn more!

Amador Hill Farm & Orchard (Women’s Environmental Institute)

Big River Farms

Blackbrook Farm

Burning River Farm

Buttermilk CSA & Folk School Retreat

EB Ranch LLC

Featherstone Farm

Growing Lots Urban Farm

Hmong American Farmers Association

Johnson Family Pastures

Little Big Sky Farm

Nelson Grass Farm

Northwoods Mushrooms(formerly Cherry Tree House Mushrooms)

Racing Heart Farm

Shared Ground Farmers’ Cooperative

Shepherd Moon Farm

Sitka Salmon Shares

St. Croix Valley

Tangletown Gardens

Treasured Haven Farm

Turnip Rock Farm

Untiedt’s Vegetable Farm

Seward Co-op appreciates our owners and shoppers. Enjoy 10% off bulk purchases on Thursday, March 21, as a thank you.

Bulk is a cornerstone of food co-ops. You can purchase as much or as little as you wish. Clean out empty glass jars and containers, scour the corners of your kitchen, and bring your own reusable packaging.

Shopping in bulk is an opportunity to choose an alternative to food manufacturer packaging, and to customize your household’s meals with foods that work best for you. We do carry reusable options and offer complimentary bags and containers.

Enjoy 10% off bulk items during our Bulk Sale at both Seward Community Co-op locations. Co-op owners can stack their quarterly owner discount to maximize savings!

Included in the sale:
•bulk foods
•bulk coffee
•bulk herbs/spices
•bulk water
•bulk repack
•off-the-shelf 25-pound bags (flour, rice, etc.)
•bulk repacked wellness items (beeswax beads, clay, Epsom salt, citric acid, lavender flowers)
•bulk dates (produce)
•bulk shampoo and conditioner
•bulk lotion
•bulk tinctures
•bulk liquid soaps
•bulk bar soaps

Not included in the sale:
•special orders
•produce (besides dates)
•flowers
•containers
•bulk eggs

Stop by and stock up at our Franklin and Friendship stores during regular business hours 8 a.m.-10 p.m. on Thursday, March 21.

We’re looking ahead to 2019, which will feature our first year of Community Choice SEED grant recipients. Our selection process for our 12 yearly SEED recipients is entirely staff-led, with the majority of cashiers serving on the committee. Show your support to our front-end staff by rounding up at the register throughout the year!

Here are our 2019 SEED grant recipients and the months during which they’ll receive funds. There will be one Community Choice recipient each quarter.

January: Mental Health Resources (Community Choice)
Mental Health Resources’ Seward Community Support Program (“CSP”) drop-in center on Minnehaha Avenue provides healthy snacks, meals, and health mentoring for 400 neighbors who are recovering from serious mental illness so they can thrive physically and mentally.

February: Cultural Wellness Center
The Dreamland Co-Café, a project of the Cultural Wellness Center, will create a blend of Culinary Heritage, self-love, and business incubation for African American food entrepreneurs in a cooperative and supportive environment that will allow us to reconnect, rediscover and reinvent the culinary traditions of our past.

Come sit around the “farm table” at the Seward Co-op Creamery Café and learn more about the Cultural Wellness Center 6-8 p.m. Feb. 19. Enjoy a meal designed by Creamery Café staff and inspired by this work, with ingredients sourced from Community Foods producers. Tickets are limited and may be purchased via Eventbrite.

March: Soup for You Café
Soup for You provides free, healthy, organic meals to all members of our community, Monday through Friday from 11 a.m.–1 p.m. We build community one bowl at a time.

April: Sexual Violence Center (Community Choice)
Sexual Violence Center, a nonprofit rape crisis center in Minneapolis, provides free support services to individuals impacted by sexual violence in Hennepin, Scott, and Carver counties. Funds from this program will help us build a gender-neutral bathroom in our office.

May: Appetite For Change
Appetite For Change advocates for food justice and economic development in North Minneapolis, with SEED funds supporting our Youth Training and Opportunity Program and our policy and advocacy work through Northside Fresh Coalition.

June: Urban Strategies, Inc./Green Garden Bakery (Community Choice)
Green Garden Bakery youth, supported by the nonprofit Urban Strategies, Inc., grow vegetables in their urban garden, bake them into healthy vegetable-based desserts (vegan and gluten-free), and market them using sustainable practices. We sell the desserts for “pay-what-you-want” and donate our
proceeds back into our community.

July: Isuroon
Isuroon is dedicated to building support for Somali women and girls social connectedness and self-sufficiency so that they can lead healthier, more productive lives in Minnesota and globally. SEED funding will be used in support of a culturally-specific food shelf that provides support for social connectedness, dignified service and healthy foods, including fresh fruits and vegetables, to any person in need.

August: Southside Services, Inc.
Southside Services supports adults with cognitive and developmental disabilities to become increasingly active, contributing members of their community.

September: Dream of Wild Health
Dream of Wild Health is a Native American-led nonprofit farm that provides leadership programs for Native youth. Dream of Wild Health grows indigenous seeds and foods and supports Native youth in advocating for a healthy community.

October: Village Financial Cooperative
Village is establishing a loan fund to disrupt the predatory financial market; establishing a Black-led credit union, filling the void of accessible and affordable banking; and providing cooperative development for emerging co-ops in North Minneapolis.

November: Sabathani Community Center
Sabathani provides food, clothing and housing to 26,000 neighborhood residents each year in South Minneapolis. We feed the chronically poor, those on disability or chemical dependent individuals and families. Sabathani Community Center has been providing basic
needs services for nearly fifty years.

December: Open Arms of Minnesota (Community Choice)
Open Arms cooks and delivers free meals tailored to meet the nutritional needs of individuals living with life-threatening illnesses. They also serve the children and caretakers of those living with illness, free of charge.

Celebrate the life and work of Dr. Rev. Martin Luther King Jr at Powderhorn Park on Monday, Jan. 21, 11 a.m.-2 p.m.

This free event features local performers, artists and a community meal. The first 200 kids will receive a free book thanks to Lerner Publications, Beaver’s Pond Press and Magers & Quinn Booksellers!

Entertainment
The celebration will include a number of musical, theatrical, and spoken-word selections by several highly acclaimed performers; including:

Ansa Akyea

Brian Bose

Rajané Katurah Brown

H. Adam Harris

Twin Cities Gay Men’s Chorus

Community Meal
A free community meal with be served. Thank you to event donors Famous Dave’s Bar-B-Que of America, Gorka Palace, World Street Kitchen and Tiny Diner.

The meal includes vegan and gluten-free options.

Food Drive
Bring canned and dried goods to the 2019 Food Drive at Powderhorn Park and help someone in need!

Sponsors
Seward Co-op is proud to be a sponsor of this event along with the Minnesota Historical Society, Risen Christ Catholic School and Village Financial Cooperative

In honor of Martin Luther King Day, Tiny Diner (located near the Friendship store) is donating 10% of all restaurant sales to the Powderhorn Neighborhood Association! Head on over and visit our neighbors on Jan. 21 for breakfast or dinner to support PPNA in gathering, building and mobilizing for Powderhorn through your meal!

This event is brought to you by The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board & Powderhorn Park Neighborhood Association

Seward Co-op Creamery Café has been closed Monday and Tuesday, Jan. 28-29 to allow crews to install new equipment and fixtures.

Due to extreme weather, Seward Co-op stores will close Tuesday, Jan. 29 at 7 p.m. The stores and cafe will remain closed all day Wednesday, Jan. 30. All Co-op locations will reopen Thursday, January 31.

The results of the 2018 Seward Co-op Board of Directors election were announced at the Annual Owner Meeting on Oct. 30 at Coffman Memorial Union. Voting opened Oct. 2 and closed Oct. 30.

There were three at-large seats open, each with three-year terms. There were 15 candidates running for the at-large seats. Sally Nixon (Seward Co-op employee), Joe Riemann (incumbent) and Cassandra Meyer were elected to fill the at-large seats.

There was one designated employee director seat open for a two-year term. Nahrissa Rush was elected to fill the designated employee director seat. Full results here.

Congratulations to the newly elected board members! Thank you to all who ran and all who voted.

Thank you to everyone who attended and made possible the 2018 Annual Owner Meeting at Coffman Memorial Union on Tuesday, Oct. 30.

We were honored to have Sean Sherman of The Sioux Chef create the menu of indigenous foods. Thank you to the Seward Co-op Creamery Café staff who prepared the meal.

Diversity and Community Engagement Manager LaDonna Sanders Redmond, who was the facilitator for the event, invited Sean Sherman to share teachings on indigenous foods. Sean’s presentation was livestreamed and can be viewed on our Facebook page. Thank you to RedBone Singers, a Twin Cities drum group, for singing prior to Sean’s talk and to Brian Heart for offering a prayer in Dakota. Thank you also to Dana Thompson, co-owner and COO of The Sioux Chef for making arrangements and attending the meeting.

It was a packed house and a packed night. Results of the board election were announced, the 2018 Scorecard was made available and our 2019 SEED grant recipients were announced, including the four Community Choice picks. A video about the Community Foods program debuted and can be viewed on YouTube.

We would like to thank the University of Minnesota, wait staff from Hire A Host, Eureka Recycling for partnering with us on our compost- and recycling-only event, the Wedge Co-op for providing bar service and snacks, Birchbark Books & Native Arts for offering books for sale, and Sunshine Tree Child Development Center for providing childcare. Thank you to our language interpreters and to all of the staff who organized and executed the event.