Biz Buzz: Seward Community Co-op

Business: Seward Community Co-op

Your Name: Natalia Mendez (they/them)

Job Title: Marketing and Communications Manager

Give us a brief overview of your business and what services you provide the community: Seward Community Co-op has been serving Minneapolis for over 50 years. In that time it has grown into two community-owned cooperative grocery stores with cafes, delis, and more, and a production facility. Beyond bringing healthy, local, and sustainably-sourced food to the community, Seward Co-op uses their Ends as a tool to support society’s need for greater racial equity. With 23,000 owners strong, Seward Co-op is leveraging cooperative economics to cultivate a healthier and more equitable society.

How many years have you been in business? Seward Co-op has been around for 51 years, and I’m beginning my third year with them.

What’s something unique we should know about your business? You can shop for your weekly groceries at Seward Co-op, and we offer much more, too! We are a meeting place to gather over delicious food from our Deli or a cup of coffee from our café. We work with community to offer educational classes that showcase local foods and cultures. We work with local farmers to help sustain a vibrant local food system. We have a SEED program that allows folks to round-up at the register to donate to local non-profits. While you feed yourself at the co-op, you feed the community, too!

What’s your favorite thing about your job? As someone who holds multiple identities, I love the diversity of our staff and shoppers. The outside of our building says “Everyone Welcome,” and I feel like we’re always working with community to find ways to continue making our stores a more welcoming and comfortable spaces. 

What’s the best thing about working with the LGBTQ community? We contain multitudes! We are creative, vibrant, and we continue to persevere. I’m so proud to be a member of the local queer community and to be at a workplace that creates safer spaces for us to thrive. I’m proud of the partnerships we have with local organizations that support our community like RECLAIM!, the Aliveness Project, the Queer Farmer Convergence, and more.

Does your business have anything new, fun or unique happening on the horizon? We will be remodeling our Franklin store! We will be open while we create a space that is full of much more natural light from additional windows, wider walkways, a new classroom on the first floor, and more. Please make sure to pop in and watch the progress happen! We’ll be doing it in phases so we disrupt shoppers’ experiences as little as possible.

If you weren’t doing your current job, what would you be doing? Probably freelance writing, working less, making more art, and spending more time outside in the garden and on my bicycles and motorcycles.