Inmates at one Northern Michigan Jail are rolling up their sleeves to nurture a growing garden at the jail.
The jail garden not only puts inmates to work but it also saves taxpayer money.
In 2010, the Charlevoix County Jail started a garden and has been maintained by inmates ever since.
It’s proving to be beneficial in more ways than one.
“It’s a good thing to do for the community. It saves money and we get good food to eat,” says Steven Sloop, inmate at Charlevoix County Jail.
Inmate Steven Sloop takes every chance he gets to help with the garden, knowing the benefits.
“The biggest benefits from this are we’re learning how to work and provide food,” says Sloop.
“We’re growing peppers, tomatoes, beans, squash, cucumbers, strawberries, just about everything you can grow,” says Sloop.
Using the produce to feed the inmates, it relieves some of the burden on taxpayers of funding jail’s food service program.
“Last year it was about $32,000 which is significant and that’s a huge portion of a $100,000 food budget,” Charles Vondra, Charlevoix County Sheriff.
Saving money and producing more than 17,000 pounds of fresh produce.
“It allows us to use fresh produce which is very hard to come by in large quantities when you’re on a tight budget,” Mike Davis, Charlevoix County Jail cook.
Giving inmates a chance to learn through the jail’s food services program.
“That hard work pays off definitely watching something start off small and then grow into something big and beautiful that can benefit others and not just yourself,” Eric Moran, inmate at Charlevoix County Jail.
“When inmates come into the facility we try to send them out better than they arrive food is a huge component of that,” says Sheriff Vondra.
Thanks to a grant from the Charlevoix Community Foundation, a new well and irrigation system is being installed to enhance their 2018 growing season.
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