Photo courtesy of West Virginia Division of Corrections.
Gov. Tomblin recognized the West Virginia Division of Correction’s Harvest Now donation program, a sustainable fresh produce effort, for donating more than 46,000 pounds of fresh produce to local food banks and charitable organizations across West Virginia.
“The Harvest Now program fits with the goals of my justice reinvestment initiative and helps provide inmates with the skills they need to be successful when they return to our communities,” Gov. Tomblin said. “Not only does tending and harvesting a garden provide inmates with valuable skills including managing tasks and accomplishing long-term goals, but the work these men and women are doing serves West Virginia’s communities in need. West Virginia is blessed with an array of natural resources, and I’m grateful the hard work of so many has cultivated our state’s rich soil into a plentiful harvest.”
The Harvest Now program provides opportunities for corrections inmates to work with the West Virginia University Extension Service and the West Virginia Department of Agriculture to plow, plant and maintain facility-wide garden plots. Fresh produce grown on-site provides facility kitchens with fresh options to supplement daily meals, and additional produce supports the Mountaineer Food Bank and similar charitable organizations across the state, serving hundreds of West Virginia families.
“We are pleased that we can give back and support those in need as part of this endeavor,” Corrections Commissioner Jim Rubenstein said. “I would like to thank the wardens, staff and inmates who have worked on the project, and as a division we continue to increase the amount of fresh produce we are able to donate to our local communities. We are honored and humbled that we can give back and are committed to the continued success of this project.”
Harvest Now also provides inmates with the opportunity to support their local communities by donating produce to local schools and working with Future Farmers of America student chapters to get facility gardens off on the right foot. Division of Corrections officials expect fresh produce for several seasons to come, as facilities plan to continue harvest into fall. A number of centers have already started planning for the spring.
Administered under the direction of Commissioner Jim Rubenstein, Harvest Now was first launched in West Virginia in 2013 and is supported by eight correctional facilities across the state including Anthony Correctional Center in Greenbrier County, Beckley Correctional Center in Raleigh County, Denmar Correctional Center in Pocahontas County, Huttonsville Correctional Center in Randolph County, Pruntytown Correctional Center in Taylor County, Lakin Correctional Center in Mason County, Parkersburg Correctional Center in Wood County and St. Marys Correctional Center in Pleasants County.
CUTLINES:
Pruntytown Correctional Center in Taylor County donated more 3,492 pounds of fresh potatoes, squash, zucchini, cucumbers and green beans to Mountaineer Food Bank
Photo courtesy of West Virginia Division of Corrections.
Huttonsville Correctional Center in Randolph County donated approximately 3,800 pounds of fresh vegetables to the Mountaineer Food Bank and this year, extended the facility’s garden to half an acre.
Photo courtesy of West Virginia Division of Corrections.
Lakin Correctional Center in Mason County donated approximately 8,900 pounds of fresh zucchini and corn to the Mountaineer Food Bank, Old Man River Food Bank, Huntington Area Food Bank and a charitable organization in Mason, West Virginia.
Photo courtesy of West Virginia Division of Corrections.