■ Film screening of ‘When the West Side Burned’ PAGE 3
FREE Vol. 40 No. 6
February 11, 2026 ■ Also serving Garfield Park ■ austinweeklynews.com
@AustinWeeklyNews
@austinweeklynews
Greenhouse, more community gardens coming to North Lawndale The Garden 2 Table Pipeline project, which launched during COVID now has 23 gardens in the neighborhood
@AustinWeeklyChi
West Sub owes state $71M, and isn’t making payments
CEO says hospital is investing funds in patient care instead of paying debt to state government
By JESSICA MORDACQ Staff Reporter
Come peak harvest season this year, residents of North Lawndale will have access to the bounty of about two dozen gardens throughout the neighborhood, plus a greenhouse full of tomatoes, peppers, squash, sweet potatoes, onions, garlic, herbs, pear and cherry trees. The local organizations that helped launch the gardens as a part of the Garden 2 Table Pipeline during Covid are now expanding with the Garden 2 Table Farm at 1431 S. Harding St. Where there are 20 community garden beds and an agriculture pod for year-round farming, the Pipeline is adding a greenhouse and farm structure for offices, workshops and presentations. They hope the greenhouse will be completed this spring and the farm structure by 2029. The new lot will help the Garden 2 Table Pipeline grow over 8,200 pounds of produce annually and, using that produce, disperse 1,000 meals a week across
Winter Florals exhibit at Third City Studio, page 4
By JESSICA MORDACQ Staff Reporter
JESSICA MORDACQ
Dr. Shemuel Israel grows butterhead lettuce, collard greens and kale inside the ag pod. North Lawndale. The efforts aim to create a resilient food system in a neighborhood that lacked any full-service grocery stores when the project launched. It officially started during Covid, when a handful of local organizations amped up efforts to provide and distribute nutrient-dense food by growing it themselves.
Today as a part of the Garden 2 Table Pipeline, seven hubs in North Lawndale give out free food that’s been donated or grown across their 23 gardens in the neighborhood. Four of the hubs — Stone Temple Missionary Baptist Church, YMEN, the See GREENHOUSE on page 11
West Suburban Medical Center has not made any payments toward its $71 million debt to the State of Illinois, $2.6 million of which the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services has recouped. Instead, West Suburban CEO Manoj Prasad said that, like other financially strapped safety net hospitals, West Sub is using its cash to “provide care to the community, instead of pay assessments to the state.” In an email to Growing Community Media, Prasad added that many safety net hospitals financially struggle to provide care for uninsured or under-insured patients. See WEST SUB on page 8
Follow us on Instagram! @austinweeklynews Top stories, local government, features, events, dining, art, and schools right at your fingertips!