Inmates tend to a garden on previously unused land at the Stark County Jail. The fresh vegetables went to the local Meals on Wheels program.

doing time in the garden

Inmates tended a garden on the jail grounds this year that produced fresh food for homebound and nutritionally at risk individuals, and it did so at no cost to taxpayers.

Story by Seth Teter | Photos courtesy of ThinkTV

Here is an Our Ohio television segment about the Stark County Jail Garden.

It’s not time that inmates at the Stark County Jail have on their hands. It’s dirt.

And neither the land nor the occupants at the facility will sit idle as the result of an innovative effort to help feed people in need.

Through a collaboration between the jail, Ohio State University Extension, Meals on Wheels of Stark and Wayne Counties and Stark County Farm Bureau, inmates tended a garden on the jail grounds this year that produced fresh food for homebound and nutritionally at risk individuals, and it did so at no cost to taxpayers.
“This is an exceptional use of people, land and natural resources,” said Nick Kennedy, organization director for Columbiana, Portage, Stark and Summit county Farm Bureaus.

Under supervision, nonviolent inmates managed the 2,700-square-foot plot that included beans, peppers, squash, zucchini, tomatoes and radishes. As many as five inmates worked in shifts, which lasted up to two hours.

But before the first row was hoed, support was needed.

The jail had at one time considered putting a garden on its large lot, but lacked any expertise in farming. The local Ohio State University Extension office recognized the opportunity that a garden would give the community and offered guidance through its Master Gardener program.

“Initially, we all wanted to do this but didn’t have the funding,” said Maureen Austin, the Extension educator who initially contacted the sheriff about the garden after considering the local need for fresh food.

That’s where Stark County Farm Bureau stepped in. Hartville Hardware provided equipment at half cost and the county Farm Bureau purchased all of the items needed to start the garden. A local farm family donated straw.

“It’s a great example of the positive impact agriculture has on the community, and we’re proud to support the program,” Kennedy said.

Now with land, equipment, plants and plenty of helping hands, work could begin. The fresh vegetables, typically a more expensive option, were a welcome addition to the Meals on Wheels program, which serves nearly 2,000 meals daily in Stark and Wayne counties. But for the inmates, the fruit of their labor was the experience they gained in the garden.

“They tell their families, they tell people how proud they are of everything they have done and it’s like they get a sense of accomplishment,” said Corrections Officer Mark Henderson. “Maybe they didn’t have that when they were outside.”

While the collaboration of the community makes this project stand out, it is certainly not unusual for prisoners in Ohio to take on farm chores. In fact, the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction manages more than 10,000 acres of land as well as dairy cows, cattle, hogs and corn, soybean, wheat and hay crops. The food is used in the department’s food service program.

After a successful first year, the Stark County Jail hopes to expand its efforts in the future including starting its own seeds to avoid purchasing plants.

During an interview for the Our Ohio television program, John Gardener Jr., an inmate at the jail, said he is now thinking about starting a garden of his own.

“I know a lot of people can’t get a hot meal, especially fresh vegetables, so that’s what makes me appreciate it a lot more,” he said. “So it’s kind of like a blessing in disguise I get a chance to work here.”

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