As vice president of culinary for Savor Chicago, the exclusive food and beverage provider for McCormick Place, I love seeing trade show attendees enjoy our delicious menu items. Unfortunately, this summer I found myself with 8,000 pounds of fresh produce and no mouths to feed.

You see, Savor operates a 1-acre rooftop garden atop the West Building of McCormick Place, which provides a hyperlocal addition to our food offerings. Each year the garden bursts with more than 50 varieties of herbs, vegetables, and greenery.

By late 2019, our team had planned the garden around the summer and fall 2020 show calendar, and once again we partnered with the Windy City Harvest education and job-training program to help manage the farm. But come March, the coronavirus shut down the entire industry, and we had no idea when - or if - shows would reopen. What were we going to do? If we planted the garden and McCormick remained on lockdown, we'd be saddled with 4 tons of veggies that would go to waste. On the other hand, if we didn't sow our seeds and the industry opened back up, we'd be left with no hyperlocal produce. Worse yet, Windy City Harvest's apprentices would lose out. And although the industry was at a standstill, spring was barreling toward us. Thyme was of the essence.

We met with the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority (MPEA), which operates McCormick Place, to determine the best path forward. Hoping the country would flatten the curve and events would return, we decided to move forward with the planting. Early on, however, we didn't have much help. Windy City Harvest was also scrambling to get back on its feet, so our rooftop manager, Riley Finnegan, prepped and planted the garden almost single-handedly. Thanks to her green thumb, the garden flourished. Fortunately, just as the early picking began in July, she got much-needed relief as the apprenticeship program kicked in.

But as COVID continued to blight the United States, we realized that business was not going to resume in time to use the summer and fall vegetables. The idea of wasting the fruits of our labor didn't sit well in our stomachs, so once again we met with MPEA and cooked up a new arrangement. Simply put, we decided to swap one market for another.

The South Loop Farmers Market, which operates every Thursday, is only a half-mile jaunt from our doors. So we put a plan in place in which fresh produce was harvested every Wednesday and then sent to our kitchen to be prepped and packaged. On Thursday, the food was delivered to the farmers market and sold to locals. The proceeds went to support Windy City Harvest's programs, where the money would have a greater impact, and all the leftovers were donated to Lawndale's Hope House, a community-based reentry program.

In the end, things turned out well. Besides growing delicious food, we helped cultivate a healthy community and ensured our bountiful harvest didn't go to waste.