Prison Garden Provides Vegetables for Chefs, Soup Kitchens
In a rare moment of win-win, an Illinois prison has put low-risk inmates to work in a gardening program.
The Sheriff’s Garden Program at the Cook County Jail grows vegetables for local food banks, churches, and top chefs, and the program gives inmates the chance to earn a master gardener’s certificate from the University of Illinois.
The program is really wonderful because it not only benefits the food banks but it also gives the inmates a sense of worth and achievement, lessening the chance that they will become repeat offenders. Now going into its seventeenth year, the Sheriff’s Garden Program gives inmates a second chance, brings out their potential, and boosts their self-esteem and sense of worth.
Go to http://www.wgntv.com/entertainment/viral/wgntv-jailgardens-090910,0,4335972.story to read more about the program and see a short video with interviews of program participants.
Tags: collaboration, community empowerment, Cook County Jail, education, empowerment, food bank, garden, philanthropy, Sheriff's Garden Program, social change, social entrepreneur, solutions, University of Illinois
