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.

Join us at the Seward Co-op Creamery Café for a dinner event with special guest, Eric Kreidermacher of Pork & Plants Heritage Farm in Altura, MN. Along with their beautiful produce, we’ll feature the farm’s heritage-breed Red Wattle pork in several different preparations. Beverage pairings from Fair State Brewing Cooperative and Sweetland Orchard are available for an extra $15. Tickets are limited; reserve your seat at the “Farm Table” right away!

Three-course dinner: $40
Drink pairing: $15

Pork & Plants Heritage Farm in Altura, MN provides us with Red Wattle, a distinctive heritage breed. The Red Wattle pig is a domestic breed originating in the United States and is named for its red color and distinctive wattles, or tassels. These pigs are not fed any soy; instead they are fed high-protein corn and peas. This method of feeding allows them to develop a unique and delicious creamy fat. All of the feed that they eat is grown organically on the same farm. Although the farm is not certified organic, Pork & Plants’ farming standards are so high that it stands out among other producers.

In 2017, Seward Co-op looks forward to providing the community with healthy and sustainably produced food. Concern for community is one of the seven principles on which cooperatives are founded, and co-ops have a strong commitment to support their neighborhoods. This integrity of purpose underlines the vital role Seward and other co-ops play in the quality of our lives.

Building Commonwealth in 2016

This fall, the Friendship store celebrated its first anniversary and the Seward Co-op Creamery Café reopened after summer renovations and a menu relaunch. The Friendship store continues to perform beyond our expectations and the renovated café provides family-friendly dishes, and an upbeat and inviting atmosphere. Since opening the Friendship store and Creamery Café, thousands of new households have become owners of the co-op.

At Seward, we strive to build stronger relationships among employees, vendors, customers and our broader community by creating spaces in which people can come together over food. We are constantly asking ourselves how we can be more welcoming to all at the co-op. In 2016, this required that we acknowledge the larger historical context of racism and discrimination in our society and take proactive steps, as the board of directors did in September by publicly stating our co-op’s support for Black Lives Matter.

We take pride in the impact we make with our three distinct business units. We are able to offer more products and services from small-scale, local, and cooperative producers. And, each Seward Co-op location allows community members to gather over food, connecting with old friends and new acquaintances.

Community Giving

In early 2016, we reached $1 million in donations to local nonprofits via our SEED round-up program! Seward Co-op has made it a priority to give back to the community. In the spirit of the cooperative principles, the co-op launched SEED in 2011, a fundraising program that provides customers an opportunity to round-up their bill for organizations that share Seward’s commitment to a healthy community.

In the spring, Seward Co-op and many Twin Cities co-ops, teamed up to participate in the MN FoodShare March Campaign. Together, we raised a grand total of 109,371.37 dollars/pounds for the campaign! (This total is comprised of $97,211.67 and 12,159.7 lbs. of food.)

From Thursday, Nov. 17–Wednesday, Nov. 23 Seward Co-op donated 1 percent of all P6 sales, a total of $4,522, to the Cooperative Development Fund, a charitable family of funds that advances economic development through co-ops. These funds will be directed to area farms, many of which Seward has purchased from for years, that experienced damaging rains and consequential farm devastation in the 2016 growing season.

Recognition from Government Officials

In August, we received a visit from U.S. Treasury Secretary, Jack Lew. Lew and his staff visited the Friendship store because part of the financing for the building came in the form of a New Markets Tax Credit. Lew helped create this tax credit in the 1990s during the Clinton administration. The credit is aimed to create jobs and improve lives of people in low-income communities.

Representative Keith Ellison also paid a visit to the Friendship store in January. The congressperson toured the store, met with staff, and discussed the co-op’s recycling program and diversity hiring goals.

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!

Last week, Stormi, Friendship store Demo Specialist appeared on Fox 9’s The Jason Show! She shared some fun snacks to create using watermelon–the watermelon salad recipe was a hit! Did you know watermelons are the most consumed melon in the United States and are made up of 92-percent water? Watch Stormi demo five creative ways to enjoy watermelon, a fruit rich in electrolytes and an excellent source of vitamin A.

Watermelon Salad with Feta and Mint

recipe adapted from simplyrecipes.com

Ingredients
2/3 cup chopped red onion
2/3 cup lime juice
A half of a large watermelon, chop the fruit into 1-inch pieces, about 8 cups
2/3 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/2 cup fresh mint leaves, thinly sliced
2/3 cup fresh parsley leaves, chopped
Serves 8

Method
Whisk together the lime juice, mint, and parsley into a large serving bowl.
Add the red onions and let soak while you dice the watermelon into 1-inch pieces
Serve immediately.

On Saturday, Feb. 13, P6 vendors, local artists, and Seward staff came together to make the Friendship Grand Opening Celebration a success. Local musician, Chrys Carroll performed with Ayanna Muata for eventgoers in the classroom, while Seward staff painted kids’ faces and handed out free cookies from Seward’s Bakery. Just Coffee Cooperative, a P6 coffee vendor out of Madison, Wis., served 18 Milk Wagons, a coffee made especially for our Co-op Creamery Café. P6 producers Red Table Meat Company, Lone Grazer Creamery, and LUV Ice Cream shared samples with attendees. In addition to meeting local producers, shoppers had the opportunity to connect with staff and learn more about Seward’s recent expansion and our Nourish program, as well as talk with Chef Lucas Almendinger from the Co-op Creamery Café. It was a well-attended event with great energy; thank you to everyone who came out to show their support! Click here to see a photo gallery.

This Saturday, March 28, we’ll be showing you how to make natural dyes for eggs at Seward Co-op. Pop by the store any time from 1-4 p.m. and see how to make great dyes from onion skins, coffee, turmeric, and tea!

We’ll have a recipe for natural egg-dyes in the recipe rack by the Customer Service desk, too, so be sure to grab one, or take a look at the article on egg-dying below.

If you want something a little less DIY, pick-up a Natural Earth Paint’s Natural Egg Dye Kit located on the display island by the Deli Hot Bar. This kit isa set of food based powdered dyes that are incredibly easy to use. Because the dyes are free from the petroleum derivatives and carmine that are found in conventional dye kits, they can also be safely used as a food coloring for baking projects.

New this year, check out the Wooden Egg Craft Kit, a great vegan option for egg dying! These kits include 6 wooden eggs, which are handmade in the Pacific Northwest from sustainable FSC certified wood, and 6 colors of natural earth paints.

Planning on a lamb or ham feast this weekend? We have great specials in the Meat Department that you’ll want to take advantage of! Local heroes Pastures a Plenty, the Lambe Shoppe, and Blooming Prairie will have all your favorite roasts, ribs, and lamb cuts for the big family get together. Let’s hope for grilling weather!

An article on egg-dying from the April/Mary 2014 issue of Sprout! newsletter:

“Celebrate Spring”

It comforts me to imagine that hunting and gathering colored eggs might be one of humanity’s oldest traditions, a way to celebrate our survival of another winter.

I don’t have much evidence for this. Egg painting can be connected to many cultures via folklore and mythology, but there’s no slam-dunk proof that any spring egg-hunt cults are terribly old. One custom, pysanky egg decorating of Ukraine, is more than likely ancient in origin. In excavations of Neolithic and Bronze-Age Ukrainian graves, cultic eggs have been found whose etched patterns are strikingly similar to pysanky “Easter egg” designs (pictured above).

Maybe. Or maybe I’m just feeling sympathy for my cold-climate ancestors after this harsh winter of 2014.

Watching my kids paint and gather eggs, I imagine that I see ancient, first-farming parents, emerging from another brutal Northern Hemisphere winter, keeping their parents’ hunter-gatherer ways alive by teaching kids how to gather wild multicolored eggs in the surrounding grasslands and woods. You know, just in case this new-fangled farming thing doesn’t work out.

How to Make Natural Egg-Dyes

Ingredients: Any number of hard-boiled white eggs
One pot per color of dye
1 Tbsp. white vinegar per cup of strained dye liquid (optional)
Bowls or egg cartons for drying dyed eggs
Paper towels

Don’t be too precious about this process. It’s meant to be fun for you and your kids, so proportions aren’t exact and don’t need to be.

1. Shop …for the veggies and other items that you’ll use for creating your dyes.

Some of these items can be gathered over the days running up to your egg-dying extravaganza. Red cabbage (blue, almost-indigo dye) Red onion skins (lavender or red) Yellow onion skins (orange or gold) Ground or cut turmeric (yellow) Red Zinger tea bags (lavender) Beets (pink; more of a brownish red the longer you leave eggs in this dye) Err on the side of more veggie matter rather than less when creating your dyes.

You can use juices and beverages for dying, too. Grape juice Old red wine Leftover coffee Juice from pickled beets Rule of thumb: If you’d freak out upon spilling a certain liquid on a white shirt, then it’s going to make a decent dye. We mixed some of these veggies to great effect, too. Eggs dyed in turmeric + yellow onion skins were bright gold. I want to try Red Zinger tea + red cabbage next year.

2. Chop …your veggies and prepare your dyes. We found that chopping fine, but not too fine, worked best. We used roughly 4 cups veggie matter for 4–6 cups water. Drop the veggies into the water and bring to a boil, turn heat down to low and simmer, covered, for 15–30 minutes. The dye is ready when it reaches a hue a few shades darker than you want for your egg. Add white vinegar now.

3. Pop …your eggs in the dye. There are two approaches here and both work well. A) Strain the veggie matter out and set your hard boiled eggs in the dye for several hours (or even over night); or B) Set your fresh eggs in the boiling water with the veggie matter and hard-boil them in the dye as it’s being created. The first way will give you clean, solid colors.

The second way is a little more haphazard, but it makes for fun and interesting patterns. After removing eggs from the pots, try draping wet onion skins over the eggs for an hour or two to take advantage of the onion skins’ cool patterns. Ditto red cabbage.

You can experiment also with different amounts of vinegar, too. More vinegar will leave a thick film on the eggs that you can leave on and let dry, making them look gnarly and wonderful (my kids called them “dinosaur eggs”). Or you can rub the film away with a paper towel to find interesting patterns beneath, as the veggies and vinegar will soak into different parts of the egg. Caution: Leaving eggs in too much vinegar overnight will make them rubbery. (Which also might be fun, but not if you plan to eat the eggs.) Dry your eggs in bowls or eggs cartons over night.

* Top photo by Elizabeth Brooks Barnwell

* Pysanky egg photo courtesy Wikipedia.

Seward Co-op Project Updates

Friendship Store

Progress on constructing the new Friendship store was delayed in November and December due to rerouting and reconnecting existing power and communication cables, but the remaining demo of the old church building and the removal of the north-south section of the vacated alley was completed in late December.

In January, the construction crew excavated and framed, then poured, cured and back-filled the new concrete foundation for the building — all in the coldest month of the year. A round of applause for our construction team, please.

The erection of the steel framing has recently started (see picture by reporter Ben Garvin on Facebook page), and the building of the new store is beginning to take shape. When this is completed, the exterior framing and sheathing will go up, along with the roof. We’re still on track for the new store to be LEED-certified.

We remain hopeful the Seward Co-op Friendship store will be ready to open in October, 2015.

Creamery Building

We’ve seen a lot of activity in the Creamery Building. The new elevator addition was completed in late December, and the second-floor offices were finished in January. Administrative staff have all moved into the second floor, which has already begun to alleviate space issues in the Franklin store.

As of Feb. 1, our focus will be entirely on the first floor, which will feature a café called the Co-op Creamery Neighborhood Café and a central food-production facility. The facility will supply the Franklin and Friendship stores with meat, bakery, and deli products, freeing up space and workloads on the two retail sites.

The new logos for the Co-op Creamery Neighborhood Café have been finalized (above). The logo was designed to capture, embody, and carry forward the spirit of solidarity and cooperation that brought about the founding of the original Franklin Cooperative Creamery back in 1912. The café menu will be developed on a farm-to-table theme, featuring seasonal and P6 ingredients.

More exciting details to come in the April issue of Sprout!

Seward Co-op Creamery Building on Franklin & 26th Avenue

Every week, there’s another news story about why honeybees are in danger and how to prevent their losses from happening.

“Healthy Bees, Healthy Lives” is the name of a campaign created by The Beez Kneez (we sell their fine honey at Seward Co-op) to protect pollinators from harmful pesticides and other chemicals. From The Beez Knees website:

In September of 2013, The Beez Kneez, LLC lost our Blake School [urban] hive in Minneapolis to a legal pesticide application. Our hive and the hives of two hobby beekeepers within a 1/4 mile of each other lost thousands of bees in a 24-hour period.

We underwent an investigation with the MN Department of Agriculture and the University of MN Bee Lab, and we able to determine that our hives were killed by a commonly used pesticide, sprayed on the foundations of buildings to kill unwanted insects.

As a result they started Healthy Bees, Healthy Lives to promote awareness about pesticide-use and how vulnerable it makes pollinators in our modern, chem-heavy world. For example, sign the pledge at the above link “to maintain a chemical free green space,” pay a minimum of $10, and you’ll receive your choice of very cool yard sign designs.

And Seward Co-op is joining the Healthy Bees, Healthy Lives campaign, too. All through April we’ll have store-specials, fun events, and we’ll be highlight special honey-based treats, too.

April 2-April 15: Beez Kneez Honey will be on special, and so will Honey Beez Cream Puffs from the Seward Co-op Bakery.

Thursday, April 3: What’s Going on with the Bees? Class at Seward Co-op from 6–8 p.m. Sign up at Customer Service.

Saturday, April 5: Healthy Bees, Healthy Lives Demo Event: Taste Beez Kneez Honey and Seward Co-op Honey Beez Cream Puffs. 3-6 p.m.

Thursday, April 10: Dandelion-Honey Pastry Chef Challenge at the Nicollet Island Pavilion, where local pastry chefs will compete against one another, building pastries that contain the key ingredient: dandelion honey. Our own pastry wizards Mary, Ann, and Amanda from the Seward Co-op Bakery will be entering the chef challenge with the Seward Bakery’s Honey Beez Cream Puffs.

More info below: