Pittsburgh Center Grows

Staff -- Tradeshow Week, 4/16/2007

Thinking globally, but eating locally grown, has taken on a new twist at Pittsburgh's David L. Lawrence Convention Center, where produce grown in an 800 square foot garden on the facility's roof is served at meal functions.

But wait, there's more. A 2,000 sq. ft. greenhouse is also planned for the convention center, according to Michael Sperekas, general manager for Levy Restaurants, the facility's food service provider.

The "seed" for all this was planted about a year ago, Sperekas said, when the Pennsylvania Restaurant Show was in the facility. During a stroll around the showfloor, Sperekas had a chat with members of the Pennsylvania Assn. for Sustainable Agriculture. That led to Levy working with local farmers and a local food co-op to provide food for meals during events at the convention center. The next thing you know...

"The convention center's roof space is large, and it had planters, so we decided to put an herb garden in last year," Sperekas said. "We used the herbs at some of our events."

What's currently being grown on the roof is harvested by the convention center's culinary team and used in seasonal dishes. The local ingredients are identified as such on menus.

Now plans are being made for a hydroponic greenhouse to grow more herbs and vegetables. To operate it, Sperekas contacted the Allegheny East Mental Health and Mental Retardation Center, a local group that provides training and work for those with disabilities, which operates another local greenhouse, in which it grows lettuce for sale to local distributors.

"We buy from their distributor, so we probably already serve their lettuce in the building," he said.