Things Pivot But Continue at Garden Atop McCormick Place

We know the pandemic has crushed business at McCormick Place, but we recently found an article about something that has pressed forward at the hulking buildings (via Venuesnow):

Amid the pall of the coronavirus pandemic sits a rooftop Chicago oasis that’s being used to help the less fortunate. The garden atop McCormick Place, North America’s largest convention center, has gone from feeding event guests to providing healthy food and generating funds for vulnerable members of the Windy City area’s population.

Concessionaire Savor, which runs the garden, and the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority, the convention center’s owner, decided in the spring to go ahead with planting of the garden despite the standstill in conventions and trade shows brought by the pandemic.

The produce, including honey from rooftop hives, has made its way to the South Loop Farmers’ Market, with proceeds going to Windy City Harvest urban agriculture education programs and unsold food being donated to Lawndale’s Hope House, a community-based reentry program. Windy City Harvest is part of the Chicago Botanical Garden and operates gardens around the city, some in formerly derelict locations. 

Good to see some semblance of normality during these strange times...