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Spring Cleansing

March 20, 2017

Gone are the days when spring cleaning only applies to the home. Spring is the time to cleanse and detox the body, too. It’s no accident that fresh, young herbal greens arrive in spring, just when we need their healing nutrients most. As owners of the co-op, we have access to some of the highest quality ingredients, especially when it comes to wildcrafted produce. However, foraging is also a great way to get some exercise and enjoy Minnesota’s natural beauty. Spring is a season of emergence and rebirth, so it is the perfect time to make a positive change for better health.

The concept of a spring cleansing of the body appears in many cultures. Herbs are a staple of Native American medicine, and for almost any kind of ailment, tinctures, salves or teas made of leaves, flowers, bark or berries are applied or consumed for treatment. African healing practices are also influenced by natural cycles and seasonality and recognize that healing lies not in a synthetic pharmaceutical drug, but in balancing our bodies with the natural world.

Outside of the co-op, one of the only places to find better natural ingredients is in nature. Many families have foraging traditions they take part in as soon as the ground thaws. There are a number of books available to help identify edible plants and maps that outline public hunting and fishing grounds in the region. Roots can be dug as soon as the ground thaws, and the tender leaves of wild nettles or ramps can be picked as soon as they emerge. So, as we awaken from our winter hibernation and bask in warmer longer days, be intentional about what you eat, dress lighter and be more physically active.

If you’re going to harvest wild herbs and roots for your spring cleansing regimen, here are some rules to follow from “Mother Earth Living”:

1. Know what you’re getting. Don’t harvest from the wild any herb that you can’t identify with absolute certainty. If you’re among the botanically challenged, find a local herb club or botanical expert to guide you on your wildcrafting trip.

2. Stay away from roadsides and other areas where wild herbs are subjected to fumes from vehicles and/or may have been sprayed with herbicides or pesticides. Animals frequent wild areas, so wash fresh leaves carefully and, if questionable, cook wild foods.

3. Ask first and harvest gently. Contact park officials or landowners to ask permission to wildcraft. Only harvest wild plants when they are in great abundance and then harvest less than one-tenth of herbs growing above the ground; allow enough leaves remaining for the plant to rejuvenate itself.

National Farmworker Awareness Week

March 7, 2017

Farmworkers are some of our nation’s most vital workers; their labor allows us to enjoy high-quality fresh fruits and vegetables year round. Despite farmworkers’ economic and cultural contributions to the communities in which they live and work, they continue to be among the lowest paid, least protected and unhealthiest workers in the United States.

During National Farmworker Awareness Week (NFAW), March 24–31, Seward Co-op is calling out the hardships faced by farmworkers. Please join us on Friday, March 31, at the Friendship store for an evening screening of “Food Chains,” a documentary film about agricultural labor in the United States.

Many people have a strong interest in food, yet too often there is very little interest in the hands that harvest it. Farmworkers, the foundation of our fresh food industry, are routinely abused and robbed of wages. In extreme cases they can be beaten, sexually harassed or even enslaved—all within the borders of the United States. Eighty five percent of our fruits and vegetables are handpicked, and it is estimated that between two and three million men, women and children work in the fields across America. When compared to other wage-earners, the people who plant and harvest our fruits and vegetables suffer from the highest rate of toxic chemical injuries, as well as higher incidences of heat stress, dermatitis, urinary tract infections, parasitic infections, and tuberculosis. Many farmworkers live in poor conditions, small spaces and have unpredictable work. Instead of valuing farmworkers in our society, we undercut their ability to live and work by denying them a living wage and benefits like healthcare.

This happens because farmworkers are treated differently under the law. Federal law does not guarantee farmworkers overtime, unemployment insurance, and protection when joining a union. The Fair Labor Standards Act was amended in 1978 to mandate minimum wage for farmworkers on large farms only, and it does not include provisions for overtime. Though an increasing number of consumers focus on locally and organically grown food, farmworker justice is often not part of food conversations. Farmworkers remain largely invisible and continue to live and work in unacceptable conditions.

At Seward Co-op, we advocate for just living and working conditions for farmworkers and an end to unfair treatment under the law. Join us March 24–31 for National Farmworker Awareness Week. NFAW is sponsored by Student Action with Farmworkers. NFAW is an opportunity to honor the critical contributions that farmworkers make and stand in solidarity with the people who harvest our food.

I.M. Healthy Original Creamy SoyNut Butter

March 3, 2017

On March 3, The SoyNut Butter Co. announced a voluntary recall of its I.M. Healthy Original Creamy SoyNut Butter. This voluntary recall is in response to the FDA alert of a possible link between this product and illnesses regarding E.coli. Both Franklin and Friendship stores have carried the product in the last three months. This recalled product has been removed from the shelf, and we will return the item to the shelf as soon as non-recalled product is available.

I.M. Healthy Original Creamy SoyNut Butter
UPC: 65498991010
Price : $6.59 (15 oz.)
Sell By Dates:
08-30-18 or 08-31-18.
More information from the manufacturer is available at 800-288-1012.

If you purchased this product at Seward Co-op between Dec. 3, 2016 and today, it will be fully refunded at either our Franklin or Friendship store Customer Service desk.

Pachamama Coffee: A One-of-a-Kind Cooperative

February 28, 2017

You may have noticed a new P6, cooperative coffee on Seward Co-op shelves, so here’s a little background. Pachamama Coffee Co-op roasts delicious single-origin coffees and blends, but their high quality isn’t the only special thing about them. Pachamama is a cooperative of other cooperatives. Five small-scale farmer cooperatives in Mexico, Peru, Nicaragua, Guatemala, and Ethiopia own the business. This gives the farmers direct ownership over the brand all the way from the farm to your cup. They are the first (and currently the only) 100% farmer-owned coffee cooperative. Pachamama’s board of directors is made up entirely of farmer representatives, meaning that farmers not only own the business, they control the business.

From Wednesday, Mar. 1—Tuesday, Mar. 21 all packaged Pachamama coffee will be 35% off! Samples will be available in the Delis on Sundays during the sale. If you like it, fill up your mug with hot brew at the Deli Counters (Sundays only) or cold brew at the Seward Co-op Creamery Café.

Isuroon: Changing Food Shelf Culture

February 26, 2017

Taking its name from a Somali word meaning “woman who cares for herself,” Isuroon believes that empowering women is key to building a thriving community. Founded in 2010, the organization was launched to address unmet healthcare needs of Somali women with the goal of eventually opening an ethnic food shelf, providing healthful foods to any person in need. The nonprofit operates on the principle that Somali culture emphasizes different values about medicine, health and illness than Western medical traditions. Over the years, Isuroon has become a trusted place in the community because of its cultural insight and collaborative approach.

“SEED donations have a direct impact on food insecurity of immigrants who are elders and women with young children. We purchase culturally specific food and serve our community in a dignified way.”

—Fartun Weli, Isuroon Exective Director

Today, the organization has been able to expand the breadth of their services and open a culturally specific food shelf, thanks to the support of the community—including Seward Co-op. Without the generosity of our shoppers participating in SEED round-ups for Isuroon, other grants and funding they’ve received may not have been possible to secure. In the years leading up to opening the food shelf, Isuroon was a two-time SEED recipient. In December 2014, 39,702 Seward Co-op shoppers rounded-up a total of $18,558. Then in December 2015, an astounding 50,081 Seward Co-op shoppers rounded-up a whopping $24,099, in a single month. These donations showed that the community was behind this organization, and Isuroon was able to secure the necessary funding to open the food shelf on May 18, 2016.

Isuroon is our SEED recipient for March 2017. So far, Seward Co-op owners, shoppers, and diners have donated $65,410 (December 2014: $18,558, December 2015: $24,099, June 2016: $22,753) to the organization. Past funds raised by Seward Co-op have been used to launch the food shelf portion on the nonprofit and cover expenses related to operation, such as securing space, supplies and food. With the continued support of our shoppers and diners, Isuroon plans to increase community engagement surrounding the food shelf, raise awareness for the unmet nutritional needs of the Somali community, and educate and inform the Somali community about health and wellness.

Isuroon has been able to grow to where they are today because of their courageous and dedicated staff, and in part, because of Seward Co-op’s generous shoppers and owners. This story truly demonstrates how cooperative economics support the local economy.

SEED Round Up for Little Earth of United Tribes

February 14, 2017

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.

Eating for Heart Health

February 13, 2017

By: Co+op, stronger together

When it comes to reasons for eating well, heart health sits near the top of the list. It all starts with food shopping, of course—by filling your cart with heart-healthy foods at your co-op, you can help lower your risk of heart disease, including heart attack and stroke. Here’s what to bring home.

Bring home

“Good” fats

These are polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats, including omega-3s. You’ll find them in canola oil, olive oil, soybean oil, walnuts, ground flaxseed, and flaxseed oil. Fatty fish like mackerel, anchovies, sardines, herring, salmon, and trout also have high omega-3 counts.

Smart protein sources

Low-fat proteins like skim or low-fat dairy products, legumes (like beans, peas, peanuts), skinless poultry, and lean meats will limit the amount of cholesterol you consume with your protein.

High-fiber foods

Foods that are high in soluble fiber can help lower your LDL (“bad” cholesterol). Beans and whole grains like brown rice, oats, and whole-grain breads and pastas are good examples, but try others too, such as barley, amaranth, millet, and quinoa.

Potassium picks

High-potassium foods like avocados, bananas, tomato products, raisins, and potatoes can help maintain healthy blood pressure.

Pass up or limit

“Bad” fats

Limit saturated fats, which are found in butter, fatty cuts of meat, whole-milk dairy products, and many sweets. And completely avoid trans fats, which are typically found in processed foods like packaged desserts, crackers, chips, and many stick margarines.

Sodium

Some sodium is necessary, but too much can contribute to elevated blood pressure.

Sweets

Fruit is a great way to help satisfy a sweet tooth while gaining nutritional benefits at the same time. When fruit doesn’t do it, look for low fat, high fiber, “good” fat options to eat in moderation.

Liquor

Too much alcohol can raise your blood pressure and damage your heart. No need to abstain completely, though; a glass of red wine now and then can help prevent the buildup of plaque that contributes to heart disease.

It’s never too early—or too late—to show some love for your heart. Start with your next shopping trip and head home from the co-op with heart-healthy choices in tow.

Edna Lewis The Grand Dame of Farm-To-Table

February 1, 2017

The Farm-to-Table movement promotes the importance of producing food locally and delivering that food to local consumers. Linked to the local food movement, Farm-toTable is mainly promoted by the restaurant communities. Among the well-known patron saints of Farm-to-Table are Michael Pollan, Dan Barber and Alice Waters. There is one name that is just as important to the movement, albeit not as well known to those outside of the culinary world — Edna Lewis.

For centuries, blacks have cooked in Southern kitchens, on plantations, in mansions, in boarding houses and hotels, and on riverboats. This was affirming work that encouraged black women to embrace the myriad ways our foremothers used food for economic freedom and independence, community building, cultural work and to develop personal identity.

Long before it became a movement, Farm-to-Table was a way of life for many Americans in the South. This was true for Edna Lewis. Miss Lewis, as she was called, grew up in Freetown, Va. The name was adopted because the first residents had all been freed from chattel slavery and wanted to be known as a town of free people.

Miss Lewis had no formal culinary training. Her classical presentation of Southern food made you, as Chef Joe Randall says, want “to put the South in your mouth.” She went on to become a celebrated black chef in New York in the late 1940s and 1950s, when there were few, if any, other black or female chefs working in the city. Edna learned to cook alongside her family. They cooked food that was always fresh from the gardens, fields, woodlands, rivers and lakes nearby. The food was simply prepared but made with great care and devotion. Edna wove these lessons into the foundation of her cooking style.

“We lived by the seasons,” she wrote, in The Taste of Country Cooking. Two of the chapter headings read, “An Early Summer Dinner of Veal Scallions and the First Berries” and “Emancipation Day Dinner” in the fall, which she described in a 1993 NPR interview.

She explained, “the food that you would carry would be the food of fall, which included game, and a lot of people carry roast chicken, which was a chicken that had become of age and you no longer could fry. And of course, pork and fall greens like turnip greens or mustard greens. And sweet potatoes and pickles and preserves and yeast bread and some dessert like deep-dish apple pie or damson plum pie.”

Sometimes fried chicken is just about the chicken. In the South, where paradoxes live next door to each other and race, class, and gender clash with particular complexity, it can be about much more. Food can be about families broken and mended, unlikely friendships, and redemption. Examining the complex relationship between racist and realistic characterizations of our food traditions, we must acknowledge the destructive legacy associated with negative images of African American food choices. It is through remembering Miss Lewis’s contribution to the contemporary food movement that we are able to acknowledge and honor that legacy on our plates.

Spicy Collards in Tomato-Onion Sauce

“As a child in Virginia, Miss Lewis says, she didn’t even know there was such a thing as collard greens. And though we knew them in Alabama, we thought of them as crude and didn’t eat them. Now I love them, however, whether simply cooked in pork stock or finished, as here, in a spicy tomato sauce. (Miss Lewis will eat collards when I cook them but seems to have no interest in preparing them herself.) Other greens are also delicious served in this sauce — especially escarole — but most will need far less cooking time than collards.” — Jemimah Code

Ingredients

1 ½ pounds collard greens

6 cups vegetable or beef stock

3 Tbsp. olive oil

1 large onion, chopped (about 1 ¼ cups)

1 Tbsp. minced garlic

½ tsp. crushed red-pepper flakes (more or less, according to taste)

½ tsp. each salt and freshly ground black pepper

38 oz. canned whole, peeled tomatoes, drained

Method

Wash and drain the collards. Remove the stems and discard. Cut the collard leaves crosswise into 1-inch strips. Bring the stock to a rolling boil in a large Dutch oven, drop in the collard greens, and cook, uncovered, for 30–40 minutes, until tender. Drain the greens, and reserve the cooking liquid. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet or Dutch oven. Add the onion and cook, stirring often, over moderate heat for 10 minutes, until the pieces are translucent and tender. Add the garlic and crushed red pepper, ½ teaspoon of salt, and ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper. Stir well to distribute the seasonings, and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Add the drained tomatoes and 1 ½ cups of the liquid reserved from cooking the greens. Simmer gently for 15 minutes. Taste for seasoning, and adjust as needed. Add the drained collard greens, and simmer for an additional 10 minutes. Taste for seasoning again, and serve hot. Serves 6.

Adapted from The Jemimah Code

A Cooperative Legacy

February 1, 2017

Until recently, if you asked where cooperatives originated, many people would cite the Rochdale Pioneers. These were the 28 textile mill workers from the town of Rochdale, England, who formed the Rochdale Equitable Pioneers Society in 1844 in response to poor working conditions, low wages, adulterated food and exploitation. They created the first sustainable cooperative business and are credited with articulating the guiding principles that became what we know today as the International Cooperative Principles.

The story of cooperation, and furthermore cooperative economics, is not exclusive to Europeans; it has been adopted by countless cultures around the globe. This is particularly true in African American history. Cooperative Hall of Famer Jessica Gordon Nembhard opens the door to critical aspects of Black cooperative history in her book “Collective Courage.” Nembhard continues the research of W.E.B. Du Bois from the early 20th century to catalogue the extensive efforts of African American cooperatives. She places co-ops solidly as precursors to and tools used in the Civil Rights Movement. She clearly demonstrates that the co-op narrative belongs to everyone.

Tom Pierson, a local research assistant to Dr. Nembhard, shared in a recent interview with the filmmakers of Radical Roots that the Twin Cities was home to multiple “first wave” cooperative grocery stores — five of which were predominantly African American based. Many of these started in the early 1940s, more than three decades prior to the majority of “new wave” food co-ops that operate today. Pierson discovered many of these co-ops in his research of the Franklin Cooperative Creamery (FCC) for Seward Co-op. FCC built the Creamery building and supported these first wave co-ops. Of the five African American co-ops that existed, a few shared neighborhoods with the food co-ops today: the Sumner Cooperative operated in the Harrison neighborhood of North Minneapolis, near the site of the soon-to-open Wirth Co-op; the Co-ops, Inc. of Minneapolis that served the Bryant and Central neighborhoods with a store at 41st Street and Chicago Avenue, was near Seward’s current Friendship store; and the Credjafawn Co-op Store, a project of the Credjafawn Social Club, was located in St Paul’s Rondo neighborhood near Mississippi Market’s present-day Selby-Dale store.

African American co-ops also formed simultaneously with Seward Co-op and other new wave co-ops. As in the ’40s, these were located in North Minneapolis, Rondo and the Bryant-Central neighborhoods. The Bryant-Central Co-op opened in the mid-1970s and was started by Moe Burton, uncle of Gary Cunningham, the executive director of Metropolitan Economic Development Association and spouse of Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges.

Pierson notes that co-ops in this era were typically run by unpaid volunteers. However, the Bryant-Central Co-op was a pioneer when it came to paying staff and thinking big. They envisioned a store more than twice the size of most large co-ops today. Unable to raise the capital to build to scale, Bryant-Central Co-op closed in 1978. Burton and others in the community attempted to start a new co-op in the mid-1990s, but due to Burton’s untimely death, as well as a lack of resources, the store never materialized.

At Seward Co-op we are proud to honor and build on the legacies of past cooperators. People like W.E.B. Du Bois, Mo Burton and groups like the Credjafawn Sociai Club, not to mention, the countless unnamed individuals that did the physical work of starting first wave co-ops are critical in our understanding of the stories of those who came before us. Communities, like our own, have used cooperatives in order to end oppression and eradicate injustices, particularly in food justice.

Cooperatives Grow Communities: Riojana Olive Oil

January 31, 2017

In the town of Arauco in the La Rioja province of Argentina stands the oldest olive tree in the country, planted in the 1600s. Although not native to Argentina, the Arauco olive is highly prized for its buttery smoothness and meaty texture, and for the robust floral and fruity flavor notes it contributes to olive oil.

There, in the Antinaco-Los Colorados Valley, the cooperative producers of Riojana extra virgin, fair trade organic olive oil are cultivating much more than their 350 olive trees. Through cooperation, they are growing a healthy, vibrant and sustainable community.

When you purchase Riojana olive oil you are not just purchasing a delicious ingredient to enjoy, you are casting a vote in favor of cooperative, fair trade businesses—and helping more than 422 cooperative members continue to invest in a brighter future.

Reinvesting profits for health and education

La Riojana’s founders came from Italy to Argentina in the 1940s and began cultivating grapes for the production of wine, and planting olive trees as a natural companion plant. Certified fair trade by Fairtrade International in 2006, the members of the cooperative have invested more than $11 million Argentinian pesos (~ $730,000 US), primarily from the sale of their fair trade organic wines, in projects including a new drinking water supply for the village of Tilimuqui, where many of La Riojana’s workers and their families live. The fair trade premium has also been invested in production improvements, new community centers and medical equipment, but the most visible result of the cooperative’s reinvestment in its farmer members and their families can be seen in their commitment to education.

A new secondary school specializing in agriculture opened in Tilimuqui in 2010. Offering free education to children age 13-18, the school has had a profound impact on its community, providing a catalyst for local development, increasing employment by the creation of more than 50 new jobs at the school, and providing training in technical agronomy to help slow the migration of young people to larger cities. Since 2010, enrollment in the school has grown from 33 pupils to more than 300. With plans to build new classrooms, the cooperative hopes to expand the school’s capacity to 600 students in the next few years. The cooperative also provides kits of school supplies to children of its members, as well as free computer courses to adult community members.

Focusing on environment to ensure a bright future

Besides supporting health and education, the cooperative is invested in green initiatives and sustainability, so transitioning more of its growers to become equivalency USDA Certified Organic is another important goal. With a focus on becoming carbon neutral, La Riojana Cooperative is introducing improved water management techniques, the use of solar and bio energy and a reforestation project.