Seward Coop strives to exclusively carry Fair Trade bananas from Equal Exchange, directly connecting us to the courageous banana farmers at El Guabo co-op, Ecuador. They're making history for themselves, and quite possibly for the entire banana industry. 

In 1998, 14 small-scale banana farmers transformed themselves into an organization with collective access to the international market.

El Guabo’s spends 80% of the Fair Trade premium on education, health care, environmental projects and other social programs. The remaining 20% is spent on infrastructure improvements such as packing stations and warehouses.  A true fair trade operation, they own their land and the means of production.

This month, like knowing your farmer in our local season, you can see who grew the bananas each day.  See our grower sign in our banana display and visit: www.equalexchange.coop.  
      - Travis, Produce manager

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JOIN THE BANANA REVOLUTION

Phyllis Robinson, Education & Campaigns Manager for Equal Exchange, writes about changes in the banana industry in Join the Banana Revolution. "When you think about the fact that the average American consumes 26 pounds of bananas a year and that bananas are the world’s most popular fruit, the potential for impact – on the farmers livelihoods, on our environment, our health, and our values – is tremendous," explains Robinson. "We want high quality food at an affordable price, but what if we had a choice? What if we could buy high quality, affordable fruit, and also know, down to the farmer, who grew it, how they grew it, and what impact our purchase had on a local community?"

Click here to read more about the banana revolution and the bananas that you find here at Seward Co-op.