The Associated Press
CINCINNATI — A northwest Ohio jail’s gardening program for inmates is spreading to other jails as a way to save on food and provide rehabilitation opportunities, the sheriff who developed the program said.
Sheriff Kyle Overmyer of Sandusky County says he has shared his program’s details with sheriffs as far away as Utah, and that sheriffs in Ohio’s Wood and Logan counties have since started their own gardens. The extent of the interest in the program was first reported by The News-Messenger of Fremont.
The vegetable garden covering more than an acre at the county jail in Fremont was started in 2009 when Overmyer was faced with budget cuts. The garden now includes raspberries and pumpkin and watermelon patches, along with vegetables like green beans, peas and broccoli. Last year, inmates began raising donated chickens.
Full Story: Ohio sheriff says jail’s inmate garden program to cut costs spreading to other jails