Inmates at a Kansas City-area Leavenworth penitentiary grow crops to feed the less fortunate

The penitentiary at Leavenworth has its own garden that inmates maintain. Last year 4,597 families benefited from the fresh produce. Garlic grows outside the prison gate.

$96,856.57 – Estimated grocery store value of the produce given to the needy

By James A. Fussell
The Kansas City Star
June 7, 2011

Excerpt:

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.

Wait. A prison farm?

Believe it or not, an ecologically responsible one. 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.

Read the complete article here.