Jails, prisons feed inmates, needy with homegrown produce

NEOSHO, Mo. -- The kitchen manager for the Newton County Jail has an array of fresh produce to pick from as she assembles colorful dishes, including pasta served with seasoned tomatoes and yellow squash.

"I just want the trays to look pretty," said Debbie Williams, as the kitchen staff dished out the food to be delivered to the inmates' cells.

The jail is growing vegetables to liven up meals and give to charity, as are several other prisons in Missouri.

Extra produce from the 2,400-square-foot garden behind the jail goes to the families of inmates who are struggling financially, said Newton County Sheriff Ron Doerge. Created shortly after the jail's construction in 1995, he said the garden allows well-behaved inmates who volunteer to get a couple of hours of outdoor exercise a week as they plant, weed, till and harvest.

The Missouri Department of Corrections estimates that gardens at five state-operated prisons produce more than 100,000 pounds of fresh produce a year, said spokesman Tim Kniest. Most of those fruits and vegetables are donated to food pantries, Kniest said.

At the Western Missouri Correctional Center in Cameron, about 10 to 20 inmates qualify to work on about 12 acres of prison gardens.

The prison gives the produce to America's Second Harvest of Greater St. Joseph, which then distributes the vegetables to about 4,000 to 6,000 needy people in the Buchanan County area. The food bank now is stocked with cucumbers, cabbages, zucchini, squash and onions from the garden.

In the next couple of weeks, the prison will begin donating tomatoes, watermelons and cantaloupes, said Steve Clevenger, the assistant prison superintendent.

Later in the growing season, he said the prison expects to have a large supply of fresh pumpkins to donate.

The bounty from the prison garden donated to Second Harvest has grown from 50,000 pounds of fresh produce two years ago to 75,000 pounds last year, said Nicholas Saccaro, the agency's director.

"A lot depends on the rain," Clevenger said of the size of the harvest. "We certainly have the potential to beat last year's figure."