For more than 45 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 café bill for recipient organizations that share our commitment to a healthy community.

In six short years, we have seen an incredible community impact from SEED. Over the month of April alone, Seward shoppers and owners rounded up a record-breaking donation of $28,472, in support of In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre’s (HOBT) spring MayDay celebration. Thank you Seward Co-op shoppers and owners for the support! The 43rd Annual MayDay Parade and Festival are scheduled for Sunday, May 7, 2017.

MayDay is the biggest, most diverse celebration in South Minneapolis all year, and fifty thousand people will show up for a parade down Bloomington Avenue into Powderhorn Park to celebrate the arrival of spring. A thousand community volunteers will start from scratch, for a 43rd year, to build the giant puppets, masks, and floats for the parade while building a common vision for our future. Celebrate May Day with a made-to-order juice or smoothie from the Friendship store’s new Juice Bar launching Sunday, May 7!

Seward Co-op’s decision to endorse the Minneapolis $15/hour minimum wage ordinance is rooted in our cooperative goal of creating equitability in the economy. Our Ends Statement says that we will sustain a healthy community with equitable economic relationships. We believe the current minimum wage of $9.50 is insufficient and is not equitable in our community.

Our goal is to pay our staff a living wage. A significant piece of the co-op’s pricing strategy is based on pay equity. Others businesses in the food industry do not have that goal. Seward Co-op established a living-wage model for its staff in 2006. We are committed to taking that model a step further.

Cheap food is promoted in the food system at the peril of food system workers. One of the key factors contributing to cheap food is the fact that food workers earn disproportionately low wages. As a co-op, we have been working for more than four decades to change that. We hope that this endorsement will provide a framework through which to discuss who is hurt by a cheap food system and the real cost of food.

We believe it is important to raise the minimum wage in order to address exploitation in the food industry. We believe that one way to do that is to pay everyone, from farmers to food chain workers, a fair wage.

Last September, the Seward Co-op Board of Directors asked General Manager Sean Doyle to determine the feasibility of increasing the starting wage at Seward Co-op to at least $15 per hour. This was in response to a proposal before the City of Minneapolis to raise the minimum wage over the course of the next few years until it reaches $15 an hour in 2023. Over the past several months, significant analysis and discussion has occurred among staff at the co-op. We’ve determined that a change to our starting wage over the next few years is viable.

We are working with 15 Now MN, a local organization advocating for an increase in the minimum wage. They are leading the Minneapolis campaign to increase the minimum wage over the next five years to $15 hour in 2023. Representatives from 15 Now MN will also be at the Seward Co-op CSA Fair on Saturday, April 22, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., in the Franklin store parking lot.

For more information on 15 Now and the $15/hr. minimum wage ordinance, as well as the co-op’s current wage scale and other questions, please read the FAQ.

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.

In the spring, the well-being of honey bees is at the forefront of our minds. After all, we all benefit from thriving pollinators. Interested in supporting a healthy bee population? Come out to support Seward Co-op bakers as they compete in the 4th annual Dandelion Honey Pastry Chef Challenge! They have been putting in a considerable amount of time and energy perfecting their recipe and are excited to support this very important cause. Using dandelion honey as the sole sweetener is a challenge, but Seward Co-op bakers are a strong team, believing their dessert will be wonderful and packing a punch of sweet honey flavor. Learn more about our bakers below.

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 is the time to cleanse and detox the body. It’s no accident that fresh, young herbal greens arrive in spring, just when we need their healing nutrients most. As owners and shoppers 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.

Ingredients For the salad:
One large package microgreens
1–2 oz. P6 goat cheese
Handful of radishes, sliced thin (greens can be used in the salad, as well)
Ramps, fiddleheads and/or asparagus; grilled or sautéed and chopped
Handful of fresh herbs, chopped
1 package Jack and the Green Sprouts

For the vinaigrette:
2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp. P6 honey
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper

As we approach the 50th anniversary of Earth Day in 2020, we acknowledge that the movement has had its ups and downs, but today Earth Day has the largest secular observance in the world. More than one billion people celebrate each year, and it is truly a day of action that changes human behavior and provokes policy change. Let’s work to keep this momentum going in 2017.

The story of Earth Day begins in 1962 with Rachel Carson’s book, “Silent Spring.” Her book sparked awareness and concern for living organisms and got people thinking about the links between pollution and public health. Eight years later, Gaylord Nelson, a former U.S. senator from Wisconsin, witnessed the devastation of the 1969 oil spill in Santa Barbara, Calif., and took action. Inspired by the student-led anti-war movement, he spearheaded the idea for Earth Day. The first Earth Day on April 22, 1970, was very successful and led to the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency and the passage of the Clean Air, Clean Water, and Endangered Species Acts.

In the spirit of Earth Day, we challenge you to make a small behavioral change that can have a big impact: rid your home of any chemical-ridden cleaning products you may have, and make the jump to cleansers made with nontoxic, biodegradable ingredients. For information on disposing of hazardous household cleaners, visit the Hennepin County website. We hope you find that homemade cleansers can be just as effective as their conventional counterparts and easier on the wallet too! The co-op has high standards for the cleaning products found on our shelves. We do offer pre-mixed options, but many shoppers experiment with do-it-yourself recipes for everyday household cleaners. Check out the recipes below for our toughest, heavyduty DIY spring cleansers.

In 2009, Seward Co-op began offering plastic bag recycling to our shoppers and owners. In 2010, we stopped offering plastic grocery bags at the checkout lanes. These changes were motivated by our Ends Statement to champion “positive environmental impacts.”

Nearly two-thirds of the plastic film Seward Co-op collects is brought to the stores by our customers, and we think it’s great that so many shoppers are committed to recycling this material. Recently, however, the hauling vendor associated with this program discontinued their route. Due to this, we have come to the difficult decision to discontinue plastic bag collection at our stores. The program will end at both grocery locations on March 15, 2017.

Don’t be disheartened—there are still ways to recycle plastic bags! Several Hennepin County and private businesses accept this material. Alternative drop-off sites are listed above and near the collection bins. We advise that you call drop-off facilities for their hours of operation before making the trip.