Convention Center Plays Host To Urban Farm: Take A Look Around

2017

Tour the urban farm outside Cleveland's convention center

BY EMILY BAMFORTH, CLEVELAND.COM  | ebamforth@cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Look out of some of the windows of the Cleveland Convention Center, and you'll see greenery, dozens of chickens, lines of bee hives and three pigs.

It's a sight that brings Clevelanders on their lunch breaks or enjoying downtown during the summer months peering over the top of the building from the mall above, trying to sneak a peek at the animals below. 

The farm is run by, and produces significant amounts of ingredients for, Levy Restaurants, the food service provider for the convention center. The project began more than three years ago with beehives, and has slowly grown to include raised beds, chickens and pigs. 

Read more: Honeybees bring the sweetness of urban agriculture to Cleveland's convention center

The farm is part of the convention center's sustainability efforts. More than 50 percent of the trash from the the Global Center for Health Innovation and the convention center was recycled in 2016, according to a report by SMG, a firm hired by the Cuyahoga County Convention Facilities Development Corporation to manage operations for the facilities. 

The three Mangalista heritage breed pigs help with the recycling efforts by eating some of the food scraps. 

Find out more about the farm and sustainability efforts at the convention center in the video above.