Creamery Café’s staff thanks everyone who attended our first Farm Table Dinner, featuring pasture-raised Red Wattle pork from Pork and Plants Heritage Farm. Chef de Cuisine Matt Kappra, with support from Sausage Production Supervisor Kyle Wondrasch, offered a delectable menu of head cheese, pork rillette, loin sliders, bratwurst, pork pibil and even a summer cherry pie made with pork lard. Beverages paired with the food – beer from local brewing cooperative, Fair State, and cider from Sweetland Orchard – provided balance and delight! As part of the dinner, we were honored to host Eric and Ann Kreidermacher, the farmers at Pork and Plants.
Seward Co-op Creamery Café may be a pit stop on your way to work or a go-to lunch or happy hour choice for your family. To many of us, it’s more than that. We’re happy to offer the Creamery Café as a space to learn about food by sharing experiences with those who bring it from the farm to the table. Stay tuned for more opportunities to engage with local farmers, producers, and community members in the future.
Seward Co-op Creamery Café may be a pit stop on your way to work or a go-to lunch or happy hour choice for your family. To many of us, it’s more than that. We’re happy to offer the Creamery Café as a space to learn about food by sharing experiences with those who bring it from the farm to the table.
Join us at the Seward Co-op Creamery Café for a dinner event on Tuesday, Sept. 26, from 6 to 8:30 p.m., featuring two farm partners just west of the metro area: York Farm (Hutchinson, Minn.) and Rebel Soil (Litchfield, Minn.). Farm owners Andy Cotter & Irene Genelin and Andy Temple & Aimee Haag—along with their certified-organic and sustainably grown produce—will be our special guests for the evening. Creamery Café staff are delighted to feature a variety of vegetables, fruits, greens and sprouts showcasing the season’s harvest. Beverage pairings from Indeed Brewing and Feral Kombucha are available for $15. Tickets are limited, so grab your seat at our “Farm Table” right away!
Follow the Seward Co-op and our Creamery Café on social media and visit our website for future opportunities to engage with local farmers, producers, and community members.
World champion unicyclists turned second generation farmers Irene Genelin and Andy Cotter embarked on their farming adventure together in 2010. Andy’s family originally bought the farm in 1971. As the local food movement gained momentum and Andy became interested in balancing food production and sustainability, farming became appealing to the General Mills IT professional. In 2002, Andy bought the farm for his residence. Today, York Farm is in their eighth season and has a dozen acres filled with rows of certified-organic grapes, strawberries, apples, plums, pears, currants, gooseberries, apricots, and Arctic kiwi.
Rebel Soil’s farming practices “rebel” against modern agricultural methods dependent on harmful chemicals, cheap labor and heavy machinery. Aimee and Andy vow to grow healthful, freshly harvested produce free of harmful pesticides, herbicides, or fertilizers. Farming on their small, four-acre farm in Litchfield provides them with daily opportunities to do more than simply grow produce, the couple also advocates for increased access to clean food, a healthier environment and stronger community ties.
Seward Co-op is issuing a voluntarily recall of its Chorizo Empanadas due to mislabeling and undeclared allergens. The product label incorrectly identified the product. In addition, the product contains tree nuts, a known allergen which was not declared on the finished product label. Between Aug. 12, 2017 and Aug. 14, 2017, Seward Co-op sold the product affected by this recall at both the Franklin and Friendship stores.
Seward Co-op Chorizo Empanadas ($7.99/lb.)
UPC: 203725202xxxxxx
If you purchased the above product at Seward Co-op between Aug. 12, 2017 and Aug. 14, 2017, recalled products will be fully refunded at either our Franklin or Friendship store Customer Service desk. Questions may be directed to Seward Co-op’s Franklin store at 612.338.2465 or Friendship store at 612.230.5595.
Featured Store Specials |
August is P6 Month, and Seward Co-op will be celebrating all month! Your favorite small, local, and/or cooperative P6 producers will be in the stores sampling and we’ll be giving away $20 Seward Community Co-op gift cards to shoppers every weekend!
The P6 label calls out products that meet our highest values, which align with the Ends of the co-op, and show our commitment to supporting a strong, independent, local food system. When you buy P6, your dollar goes further! Buying P6 products not only supports your local co-op, but flows resources back to the small-scale, local, and/or cooperative producers–many of which pay their staff a living wage and provide them benefits. From 2010-2016, Seward Co-op’s total P6 sales have nearly tripled from $7,380,200 in 2010 to $19,829,496 last year!
Seward Co-op proudly launched P6 in 2010 as a tool to help shoppers identify products that meet their values. In order for an item to receive the P6 label, the producer must meet two of three criteria: locally produced, cooperatively owned, and/or small-scale.
• Local defines a product grown or produced in the five-state region (MN, WI, IA, ND, SD).
• Cooperative is defined by cooperative ownership of the business or non-profit.
• Small-scale producer is defined using these guidelines: independently owned and operated, selling direct to our stores or through a local distributor with a regional distribution area.
We pay special attention to products from international sources, or whose main ingredient is from an international source, like a chocolate bar or coffee. The international ingredient must be sourced from a small-scale farmer co-op in order to receive the P6 designation. This extra level of attention is because of rampant exploitation in international commodity food chains.
We hope that Seward’s cooperation with the other P6 co-op members inspires you to support your co-op, area producers, and the equitable relationships embodied in a co-op supply chain.
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.
Seward Co-op’s Board of Directors is seeking candidates for the 2017 board election. If you feel strongly about the cooperative business model and want to help shape the future of our co-op, please consider being a candidate. The election will begin in late September, ending at the annual co-op owners meeting on Oct. 23. In order to receive a Board Candidate Application, attendance is required at a board meeting this summer. We welcome all interested co-op owners to attend.
Prior to each of the summer meetings, the board will hold a Candidate Orientation Session beginning at 5:30 p.m. Please arrive early so that the session can begin promptly. The Aug. 29 meeting will be held at the Franklin store. Board meetings officially call to order at 6:15 p.m. Mark your calendars now for Aug. 29 if you think you may be interested in running for the board, and please email board@seward.coop in advance to indicate your intention to attend.
Click here for more information about the board of directors generally. Please email board@seward.coop for further information about the upcoming meetings and this year’s election.
Local produce season will be peaking very soon—when almost everything is available to us, from spring vegetables like herbs and radishes to winter crops such as cured onions and squash. And of course there’s the fruit; we will soon see local peaches, melons, and then apple and pears.
If you look around Seward’s produce departments you will see staff pick signs letting you know which produce staff members are enjoying, and I’d like to take this opportunity to share my favorites! As a produce buyer for over 10 years, I’ve developed relationships with many local farmers and farm groups and I’ve eaten the best they have to offer. Some of my “picks” include:
Wheatfield Hill’s sweet corn arrives early and stays around late in the season, consistently delivering sweet and plump kernels.
Hmong American Farmers Association (HAFA)’s okra and ground cherries—coming soon!—Local okra is the only kind to eat and HAFA’s Indian variety is firm and velvety.
Hearbeet Farm’s beets and greens—These beets are pristine and available from June all the way through April. Char, collards, and kale are all perfect staples to have in your diet!
Featherstone Farm’s kale and sungold cherry tomatoes—Some of the largest bunches of kale I’ve ever seen are grown at Featherstone. Their sungolds are bright and sugary-sweet every time.
Wisconsin Growers Co-op provides the first local watermelon of the season, and they can’t come soon enough! As the season progresses we will see between seven and ten different varieties.
Sin Fronteras’ tomatillos—coming soon!—Simply roast and blend into salsa verde for a refreshing summer dip!
Partner Farms’ peaches are dynamic, lively, fresh, and juicy. Cinderella Plums are my absolute favorite stone fruit and Seward Co-op will be the only place in town that has them. Don’t delay, once these arrive they won’t last long!
All of the local farms Seward buys from are certified organic, growing organically, or using high level integrated pest management practices. You can be assured that you’re getting the freshest, most nutrient dense, and most cared for local produce available.
The wait for harvest season is over, and our partner farms have reported the fields are rife with ripe, flavorful seasonal produce just begging to be eaten. We live for this time of year at the café. Last week we debuted our new summer menu, and we’re excited to share it with you! Now is the time for local produce to shine, so diners can expect our local vegetables, locally sourced proteins, and housemade toppings to fluctuate as the season ebbs and flows. Stop in and check out our specials board or follow us on Twitter (@CoopCreamery) for specific details.
The Creamery Café intentionally sources from farms that may be too small or lacking the resources to support the sales and customer demand of our retail stores. In an effort to support up-and-coming farmers grow their operations and keep money right here in the community we share. The small produce farms we’ll be working with this season are Rebel Soil and York Farm. As the season progresses, there may be special guest appearances on the plate from Sin Fronteras, too! We’ll fill in any gaps with produce and protein from larger partner farms with which we have established relationships. The farms making this strategy possible include Wisconsin Growers Cooperative and Heartbeet Farm. The cooperation among our organization, our farmers, and our diners contributes to the creation of wealth in our community one dish at a time.
Our annual Know Our Grower series continues as our growing season thrives. Know Our Grower is an opportunity to connect shoppers with the talented group of local farmers producing our food and to sample recipes that allow their flavors to shine. We will be sharing information about more partner farms and producers as the season progresses throughout the summer, fall and into the early winter.
Jeremy McAdams launched Cherry Tree House Mushrooms (CTHM) in 2009, a mushroom farm that provides log-grown mushrooms to the Twin Cities. CTHM started in many residential yards in south Minneapolis but has recently moved to a new farm in Clayton, WI.
