The Slow Food USA Blog

Beyond the Corniness of Prison Gardens

Posted on Mon, November 23, 2009 by Jerusha Klemperer
4 Comments | Categories: Farms and Farming, Food Justice, News, Current Events,

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by intern Becca Stanger

“Every garden has its weeds.” Staring at this fresh sentence on my glowing desktop screen, I rolled my eyes, let out an audible chuckle, and bounced by finger on the backspace key. As I discovered this week, the sheer number of sentimental metaphors that can be dreamed up when writing about something like prison gardens could stun a horse. Which is a shame because, beyond the cheesy allusions to literal and figurative growth, prison gardens prove to be innovative programs offering benefits to both inmates and American society at large.

Garden programs are sprouting up (sorry) in prisons across the country. Most notably, the Wisconsin Department of Corrections organized gardening programs in a total of 28 of its adult institution facilities this past year. Through these programs, inmates develop essential social and life skills. By working with their fellow prisoners and supervising staff to plan the growth of their seasonal garden, inmates learn how to work cooperatively. The opportunity to work outside in a garden also allows inmates to nurture both their mental and physical health. Furthermore, by learning practical work skills, inmates prepare themselves to find jobs and support themselves upon their release. In fact, one inmate participating in San Francisco County Jail’s Horticulture Program loved the program so much that he asked to come back to the garden after his release to take care of his plants.

If helping inmates cultivate (sorry again) the best in themselves were not enough, prison garden programs prove invaluable to American communities. When the harvest of these prison gardens comes in, most of it is sent to the prison kitchens to feed the prisoners themselves. This contribution helps to cut the cost of feeding prisoners - not an insignificant benefit considering prison costs are rising and states spend nearly 7 percent of their budgets on corrections after only health care, education, and transportation.

In addition, large amounts of the prisons’ garden produce is sent to nearby food banks. At Wisconsin’s Oakhill Correctional Institution for example, inmates raised a whopping 75,000 pounds of produce, 25% of which was donated to local pantries. And at Rikers Island, inmates donated 18,000 pounds of fresh vegetables to local soup kitchens and food pantries. These donations prove crucial during this economic crisis. With both the cost of food and gas prices rising, more and more Americans are turning to food banks for support. In 2008, the number of people seeking help at Feeding America, the nation’s largest food bank network, rose by 15 to 20 percent. In some banks, that percentage reached as high as 40 percent. Donations have also dropped, putting food banks in dire straights with high population demand and low donation supply. With these stressful circumstances in mind, garden donations from local prisons prove more valuable than ever.

So while it may be easy to laugh at the corny metaphors and puns stemming (I really am sorry) from prison garden programs, the reality is these programs offer benefits both inside and outside of the prison walls. It would certainly be worthwhile for more state and federal governments to investigate the implementation of prison garden programs. After all, there’s no need to throw the corn out with the corniness. (I couldn’t resist a parting shot…)

Member Comments

From delia on Sun, November 29, 2009

What a GREAT idea! Having inmates work at something both enjoyable and sustainable from which they can learn life lessons and feed their peers. Wow. It should be a requirment at all institutions - penal, mental, educational, you name it. Great stuff.

From tara mcdonald on Mon, November 30, 2009

hi I think what your doing in the prisons is great. I had this idea,that if , in all the prisons around the United states, we could raise food for the truely hungry,starving ,people in the world.This ,as a sign of peace and goodwill to all men. And of course to help those in dire need of food. I am a gardener myself,and it is my dream to start a big charity to feed people in Africa , China an so on. But also as a show of peace on earth thankyou tara mcdonald .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

From Sarah Patterson on Tue, December 08, 2009

I really liked this article. We started an organic garden project in a prison here in Oregon this year. We recruited volunteers, got seed, plant and compost donations and planted about 7000 square feet, teaching the women inmates organic gardening skills, and all the other things you learn by gardening. We taught a gardening class, and hope to expand to a vocational component. We’re expanding to other prison sites for next year. We would like to offer help people to in other places, to walk thru the process of starting prison gardens. Contact us thru our web site http://www.lettucegrow.org

From Pamela on Sun, January 31, 2010

In light of the controversial and very recent discovery that GMO’s are deadly, and cause both organ damage and failure in only three months in lab rats fed exclusively GMO corn, and that as a result there is currently a petition circulating (this is in the last few days this information has come to light—and it has also come to light that there were NO tests done on GMO foods before being released into the US due to the fact that Monsanto, the largest producer, had its own employees working in the FDA at the time—sordid and true) there is a real possiblity that inmates suffering from organ damage and with little access to healthy raw, non-GMO food could sue the state. So it is good to see this happen.
Also, the connection to the earth and natural processes, and the empowerment of growing your own food, and the feeling of being able to effect a change on one’s environment are very healthy.
I would like this to spread to mental hospitals and homeless shelters. Not only would it save money, but it would probably heal the people so disconnected from the earth and themselves. Additionally, if permaculture garden design techniques were used, the water needed would be one fifth, and the fertilizer is no longer needed due to extensive mulching and composting, so that is free, and because the nutrient level in the soil rises dramatically, there is much less need for pesticides. Also, companion planting removes need for soil depletion and pesticide use. Please google permaculture garden design techniques, and if you wish, advise me on how to promote adopting such a plan in mental hospitals where inmates languish in bored lonely despair.