MDOC Garden Program Has Inmates Harvesting 40-Plus Crops — Including 19,900 Pounds of Blueberries at One Facility
Inmates across Mississippi are planting and harvesting more than 40 crop varieties — tomatoes, sweet corn, okra, watermelons, blueberries and more — under a Mississippi Department of Corrections garden program, the agency announced this week.
The produce goes straight to facility kitchens, incentive meal programs, and cold storage. The Mississippi State Penitentiary has harvested about 1,600 pounds of squash, while South Mississippi Correctional Institute has brought in 19,900 pounds of blueberries at no added cost to the facility. Central Mississippi Correctional Facility maintains 19 garden plots, a greenhouse, and an outdoor classroom teaching agriculture and horticulture.
"They're helping supply our facilities with homegrown fruits and vegetables while giving participants practical skills they can use to provide for themselves and their families long after they leave MDOC," Commissioner Burl Cain said in the release.