GRAFTON, Ohio — In an unlikely place, a garden is flourishing and feeding those in need in Northeast Ohio.
More than 7,000 pounds of produce has already been harvested and donated to Catholic Charities and area food banks this year, all coming from the garden inside the Grafton Correctional Institution.
"We have hunger and we have people not getting food and the contribution they are making is tremendous," Sister Rita Mary Harwood said.
More than 20 volunteers make up the team of incarcerated individuals responsible for maintaining the garden, which started in 2020 during the pandemic when the prison was looking for a way to help those in need in the community.
"It was really a stress reliever at first," said one inmate that oversees the operation.
News 5 is not identifying those incarcerated that care over these crops in the interest of having their volunteer work stand separate from the crimes they committed.
"Society may have a perception of people who come to prison and fairly so, we earned our fate," said that same inmate. "As we go through what we go through, the staff has allowed opportunities for us to serve in some capacities and grow as human beings."
When it started, the garden spanned about 5,000 square feet in the center of the prison. Today, it stands at about an acre.
"I think we have the record right now for the biggest garden in the state for correctional facilities," Deputy Warden Stephen Reynolds said. "They’re here doing their time for the crimes they committed but they are engaging and they are doing things to give back which is nice."
"We’re at 7,000 pounds right now [this year] and we’re aiming for 15,000 - 20,000 pounds [by the end of this year,]" said the inmate that oversees the operation.
In addition to its 57 volunteers and 20,000 pounds produced over the past three years, prison leaders tell News 5 that those incarcerated have invested more than 6,000 hours worth of community service into caring and maintaining for the garden.
A chance for those incarcerated to shine in spite of the mark they left on society.
"When I was younger, me and my mom used to go to food banks, and knowing I’m giving something back, it makes me feel good," said one inmate.
Clay LePard is a special projects reporter at News 5 Cleveland. Follow him on Twitter @ClayLePard or on Facebook Clay LePard News 5.
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