Evanston’s fourth community fridge will open this fall outside of Kombucha Brava at 717 Custer Ave. Community members built Evanston’s original fridge outside the Childcare Network of Evanston building at 1335 Dodge Ave. Set to open in March, a vehicle crashed into the fridge and destroyed it the night before it was supposed to be.
What started as a vision years ago for a locally sourced, non-corporate, community-run grocery store will soon become a reality.
Wild Onion Market, a food co-op that will soon open near South Evanston, is a grocery store owned and operated by members of the Evanston community. Wild Onion Board of Directors President Jillian Jason said the business is focused on providing accessible and sustainable food as well as fostering a market environment centered around the consumer.
For the past five years, Wild Onion has recruited community members to purchase a $250 lifelong ownership, which grants them and their immediate household one vote in electing the co-op’s board of directors, in addition to other benefits.
The Downtown Evanston Farmers’ Market opened its 46th season on Saturday after local businesses cultivated product lineups, outlined COVID-19 policies and packed trucks.
The market will run Saturdays from 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. from now until Nov. 6 at the corner of University Place and Oak Avenue. To mitigate the risk of COVID-19, it will be open from 7 to 7:30 a.m. to seniors and immunocompromised shoppers.
Manager Myra Gorman said the market is implementing the same COVID-19 procedures used in 2020, including a no-touch market, handwashing stations, masking and social distancing.
Gorman said the Link program, which provides individuals who qualify for food stamps increased buying power in the market, will continue to be helpful cost-saving measures.
Lead On: A city resolution
HEENA SRIVASTAVA: From The Daily Northwestern, I’m Heena Srivastava.
KALEN LUCIANO: And I’m Kalen Luciano. This is Lead On.
THOMAS SUFFREDIN: Our next item that was pulled was item A10, I think that was yours Robin, right?
ROBIN RUE SIMMONS: Yes, staff recommends City Council adopt the resolution 11-R-21 to approve the representative testing of samples for lead and copper in all nine wards. I move approval.
OTHER ALDERMEN: Second.
ROBIN RUE SIMMONS: Thank you.
HEENA SRIVASTAVA: Evanston City Council voted Monday night, January 25, to pass a resolution mandating representative water testing. This means that Evanston will now be required to collect at least three water samples to test for lead and copper from each of the city’s nine wards. 5th Ward Ald. Robin Rue Simmons spearheaded this effort.
December 22, 2020
Second Ward resident Regina SantâAnna has helped her elderly neighbor carry hundreds of boxes of bottled water from her car to her home. Living on the border of the historically Black 5th Ward, SantâAnna has noticed that some residents are concerned about their water quality.
âAt times in underserved communities of color, brown or Black, you have a lot of people investing in (bottled) water,â SantâAnna said. âYou have to put in your budget plastic bottled water, because you do not trust the water systems.â
SantâAnnaâs neighbor is one of many Evanston residents concerned about their drinking water. Home to Evanstonâs only waste transfer station, the 5th Ward specifically has suffered from discriminatory environmental policies that impact residentsâ air quality and health. While the reasons for distrust may vary, the 2014 Flint, Mich. water crisis renewed city-wide concern for lead in water.