Prison food has never enjoyed a great reputation. But the quarter million pounds of produce grown annually by inmates at the United States Penitentiary at Leavenworth just might change that. It’s fresh, free, feeds the less fortunate and even has helped inmates get good jobs after being released — all without costing taxpayers a nickel.
Carefully screened volunteer inmates from Leavenworth’s minimum-security prison camp are allowed outside the secure perimeter to grow tomatoes, potatoes, sweet corn, watermelon, onions, radishes and other crops. Prisoners who work on the farm are serving time for a variety of non-violent crimes, including wire fraud, mail fraud and embezzlement.Last year more than 80,000 pounds of produce grown by prisoners went to help feed the needy throughout the greater Kansas City area. This year, estimates put donated produce at up to 200,000 pounds.
The environment
The Leavenworth prison farm is a model of ecological responsibility. The prison composts food waste. Then, through an inmate-run system known as vermiculture (or worm farming), that compost is eaten by thousands of red wiggler worms. The worms, through natural processes, then change the waste into rich, organic soil and liquid fertilizer that Mason calls “black gold.” Watering is responsible as well. Last year the prison captured 700,000 gallons of rainwater to use on the farm.
The institution
The farm benefits the prison, as the produce feeds the entire prison population. That’s money that doesn’t have to be spent buying food elsewhere. And the farm provides healthy activity while giving inmates a chance to give back, and it doesn’t cost the prison a thing.
The inmates
Mason set up the prison’s horticulture apprenticeship program so that inmates can receive education credits through the Department of Labor. He is passionate about helping them rebuild their lives.
“(Most people) have a perception that it’s just lock ’em up and throw away the key,” he said. “I don’t look at it like that. I think we should train these inmates. Give them skills. Let them take them with them, and not come back.”
For two inmates who finished the horticulture program and have now been released, that’s exactly what has happened.
“One’s in Des Moines,” Mason said. “He used his apprenticeship program to get a job with a big chemical company and is now making $80,000 a year. And it’s all from the education he got here. Another got a job as the manager of a landscaping company.”Sargent, the groundskeeper, said the experience can help prisoners in many ways.
“They’re learning how to grow things, and it’s a newfound interest for them,” he said. “We teach them that even if they don’t do this for a living when they are released, they can do it to supplement their income by growing their own food.”The communityJohn Groves, a former prison employee, now coordinates the pickup and delivery of the produce to food pantries and other agencies as a Salvation Army volunteer. He has seen the effect the food has had for the needy.
“Fresh produce at the grocery store is very expensive,” he said. “We’ve had ladies who have come (to pick up free produce) and said they didn’t know what they would do without this program.
“You see people come down in wheelchairs or walkers, or with friends who help them carry the vegetables back to their apartment. They can take as much as they want until it’s gone. It’s making a huge difference in their lives, because they probably wouldn’t be getting fresh produce otherwise.”Sister Jane Albert Mehrens, a member of Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth and outreach coordinator for the Alliance Against Family Violence, agreed.
“The program is marvelous and well needed,” she said. “And it’s needed even more now than it has been in the past because needs are greater, food (cost) is higher and (people) are not making any more money. There are lots of drop-off places where people in need can go and get it without lots of gas or hassle, and the food is extremely healthful. I just think it’s wonderful.”read source article
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