prison food
The SL County Jail started a master gardener program this year in collaboration with Utah State University. Inmates plant, tend, and harvest a variety of produce and either donate the food or sell it at the farmer's market. We've tried to buy from the program every time they are at the market. Their produce is great and incredibly cheap (since they are not looking for profits). A few inmates are always there, selling their vegetables and you can tell they are pretty proud of their work.
Compare that to this video about a convention for correctional system food. Maybe instead of worrying about sticks in corn dogs a few more correctional facilities could get inmates to grow some of their own food.
Compare that to this video about a convention for correctional system food. Maybe instead of worrying about sticks in corn dogs a few more correctional facilities could get inmates to grow some of their own food.
posted by lis at 1:15 PM
3 Comments:
What a fantastic pro-active idea! I love hearing about things like this, they are small steps but they lead to a bigger impact on the world.
This sounds like a good program, but I'm not sure how I feel about prisoners, who don't get paid minimum wage, undercutting the full-time farmers at the market.
From what I've seen, I don't think that the jail's program is damaging the other farmers' sales. the type of produce they grow is pretty limited and they don't grow heirlooms (which is what most farmer's market shoppers seem to prefer). Also, they are only at the market every other week. I should ask some of the other farmers what they think, but I honestly don't think it's an issue of competition.
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