Join the Sow the Seeds Fund

What if our society were set-up in such a way that each and every little action you performed made sense, environmentally and ecologically, rather than the opposite? What if you had the opportunity in your daily life to effect change and it cost you nothing, and was really no more than a part of your regular routine? Thanks to an exciting new idea that has been blossoming at the Wedge Co-op for some years now, this type of sanity is now available to you! The Wedge is happy to introduce the Sow the Seeds Fund, a chance for members and non-members of the Wedge to contribute effortlessly towards the bettering of our environment and the health of our local family farms.

The Sprout of an Idea

Several years ago, Barth Anderson of the Wedge Research and Development team, was impressed by an idea he heard about from the Puget Sound Co-op in Seattle, Washington. They had organized a "Farmland Fund" which members could contribute to if they were interested in donating money towards the protection and organic certification of local farmland. "It was a great idea and I put it on the back burner," he said, "thinking it might be something the Wedge could do at some point."

That point came this past year, when another member of the great Wedge think-tank, Elizabeth Archerd (of Member Services) began to discuss the idea of non-member involvement in the co-op, specifically, if there might be a way to utilize a non-member patronage refund at the end of the fiscal year. As members of the Wedge Co-op know, purchases made using a member number at the register are totaled at the end of the fiscal year, and depending on the size of the entire co-op's profit, a percentage of that total is returned to the member. The amount of money the Wedge makes from non-member purchases is substantial-and so Elizabeth noted that if there were a way to signup non-members under a non-profit's "membership umbrella," those total purchases could accrue and the refund would be paid out to that non-profit.

"After Lindy (General Manager of the Wedge) gave us the green-light, all we had to do was find an existing NGO (non-governmental organization) who would be willing to partner with us." Barth explained.

It turned out after some searching that an ideal partner would be found in the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP). The IATP, a non-profit think-tank which develops policy alternatives for agricultural and environmental issues of the day, was founded in 1986 in response to family farms in crisis against expanding industrial agriculture. Dale Wiehoff, communications director for the IATP, enthused that they were "honored and excited" to become a part of an idea with such potential.

Sow the Seeds Fund

The final product of this brainstorming is the Sow the Seeds Fund. The Fund, in consultation with a board of local environmental and agricultural leaders, will distribute grants to farmers, organizations and applicants whose proposed projects will strengthen the local food system and environment. Potential applications of the fund include assisting local farmers with organic certification fees, training for conversion of farmland towards organics, or even purchase of farmland to be reserved for environmental education and stewardship training.

You can join Sow The Seeds Fund as a non-member or current member of the Wedge Co-op. It is as simple as filling out a form at the customer service counter during your next visit. You will receive a newsletter from the Fund and can then use the Fund's member number as your own at the register. You are also able to make a tax-deductible contribution to the fund on any visit to the Wedge, which is reflected on your cash register receipt. Co-op member-owners who use the Sow the Seeds member number will not receive their usual member discounts or specials, and will not be able to use quarterly discounts on these purchases.

At the end of the fiscal year, the Fund will receive a patronage refund based upon the purchases of all its members, and this is its primary and expected source of yearly income. In time, it is hoped that other co-operatives will be able to offer membership numbers for the Sow the Seeds Fund; beginning with the Twin Cities Natural Food Co-ops (TCNFC), but with the potential to expand and team up with co-ops throughout the entire upper Midwest. The uses of the grant money could thus remain relatively "local" and have a tangible impact on the Midwestern farming community and local food economies.

Join Today!

The only way the fund will work is if people remember to sign up and use their member number for all purchases at the register. It is so simple, so sane, and such a good use of the cooperative business model, that truly it is providing us a rare opportunity to see something potentially beautiful grow out of nothing!