Gardens and Food Donations

Gardens

The Department of Corrections cultivates Restorative Justice Gardens in institutions throughout the state. Staff members work with offenders to grow produce for low-resource Missourians in need of fresh food, yielding as much as 100 tons of fresh fruits and vegetables for donation to Missouri food banks, shelters, senior centers, schools and other organizations. 

Restorative Justice Gardens

Garden Updates

Gardens at Algoa Correctional Center serve people & wildlife. Restorative Justice gardens yield fresh fruits & vegetables for donation to area food banks, while native plantings established in partnership with @MDC_online
support Missouri bees & butterflies. https://twitter.com/MoCorrections/status/1420105283255377927
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The Restorative Justice Garden at Potosi Correctional Center yielded these beautiful summer squashes, zucchinis & ears of corn. Fresh vegetables & fruits grown in prison gardens help feed children, seniors & other food-insecure people through local food banks. https://twitter.com/MoCorrections/status/1290740561612283904

 

 

six men harvesting vegetables
Volunteer gardeners at Eastern Reception, Diagnostic & Correctional Center have harvested more than 450 pounds of produce for donation to Elvins Food Pantry & local organizations that feed children, seniors and other Missourians affected by food insecurity. https://twitter.com/MoCorrections/status/1288456758579560448

 

 

 

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This week Anthony Whitford from Missouri Eastern Correctional Center presented @FeedMyPeople1 with 10 trays of fresh fruits & vegetables grown in the prison's Restorative Justice Garden, helping to #feedMORE Missourians in STL. https://twitter.com/MoCorrections/status/1288120906888278019 

 

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The Ozark Correctional Center Restorative Justice prison garden is helping to #feedMORE Missourians. So, far case manager John Lewis & his crew of workers have raised & donated more than 620 pounds of produce to the Kings Food Pantry & Thrift Store in Seymour. twitter.com/MoCorrections/status/1286714590949183495
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In June, Boonville Correctional Center's garden yielded 1,800 pounds of fresh produce. The harvest of strawberries, turnips, radishes, greens, beets, carrots, potatoes & zucchini went to food pantries & senior centers in Boonville, Fayette & Prairie Home. twitter.com/MoCorrections/status/1280160747528560640

 

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Bee hotels at Southeast Correctional Center provide nesting sites for native bee species such as mason and leafcutter bees. Our partnership with @MDC_online has produced multiple bee & butterfly projects, including a 10-acre plot of pollinator-friendly native plants at SECC. twitter.com/MoCorrections/status/1248298291894390791

 

 

 

 

"After visiting with guys in the Restorative Justice Garden and seeing the recidivism statistics, I am convinced of the value of these types of programs... No matter the context, gardening is a tool that changes people’s lives." More at @columbiatribune https://t.co/qgeQ1rGIgZ pic.twitter.com/ggF6l8SPEV

— MoCorrections(@MoCorrections) September 19, 2018

 

 

Thanks to the hard work of residents & staff, the Transition Center of St. Louis donated 27 pounds of homegrown fresh produce to @SVDP_STL to help #feedMORE Missourians. TCSTL provides housing & programming to men under community supervision. More : https://t.co/msl9AWkroQ pic.twitter.com/etYeAir9QG

— MoCorrections(@MoCorrections) September 5, 2018

 

Billy Polansky, @ColumbiaUrbanAg executive director, has launched a four-part series on our Restorative Justice Gardens. Read his impressions of Boonville Correctional Center offenders dedicated to improving the lives of fellow Missourians. #feedMORE https://t.co/LYD8qFAKpw pic.twitter.com/I0XuKkHALZ

— MoCorrections(@MoCorrections) August 30, 2018

 

Last week Boonville Correctional Center donated 1,454 pounds of fresh produce grown in Restorative Justice Gardens to the Fayette Food Pantry & @TheFoodBankMO to help #feedMORE Missourians. The bounty included watermelons and cantaloupes amid the vegetables. 😋🍉 pic.twitter.com/aqhKsHLhOX

— MoCorrections(@MoCorrections) August 27, 2018

 

Maryville Treatment Center case manager Doug Butcher says prison gardens yield not just fresh produce but also moving thank-you letters. When offenders "get something from a child that says, ‘Thank you for the cantaloupe,’ they get really emotional.” https://t.co/xEX9LL0UBu pic.twitter.com/o0rOylhIAi

— MoCorrections(@MoCorrections) August 7, 2018

 

The Restorative Justice Garden at Maryville Treatment Center helps to #feedMORE Missourians! So far this season, the offender-tended garden has yielded more than 400 pounds of fresh fruits & vegetables for the Ministry Center & the Children and Family Center. 😋🍅🌶️🍈🥔 pic.twitter.com/f8CRFrX5Ul

— MoCorrections(@MoCorrections) August 1, 2018

 

Grateful to work with @JobsMoGov on this new horticultural apprenticeship! Our first graduating class of apprentices completes the 12-week program trained, certified & ready to go to work for employers in need of skilled labor. 🍅🌱 Watch this video: https://t.co/baMW6SvQY9 pic.twitter.com/kpXjAMwxEx

— MoCorrections(@MoCorrections) July 23, 2018

 

Big thanks to @BvilleDailyNews for braving the heat to visit one of our Restorative Justice Gardens! Read this great piece to find out how gardening is changing lives. “I’m giving back to society for the first time,” Steven Vanvicklesays. #feedMORE https://ow.ly/BDRG30l1EK6 pic.twitter.com/bV2WSXtF6c

— MoCorrections(@MoCorrections) July 19, 2018

 

Last week Boonville Correctional Center donated 671 pounds of produce to a Fayette food pantry. The Restorative Justice Garden harvest included cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, carrots and tomatoes. We're thrilled to help #FEEDmore Missourians! 💙🥕🌽🍅🥗 pic.twitter.com/bYx0xHjqrY

— MoCorrections(@MoCorrections) July 18, 2018

 

Crates full of fresh vegetables.

This week Boonville Correctional Center donated 523 pounds of fresh produce to @TheFoodBankMO. Offenders and staff grew the potatoes, cabbage, greens, lettuce, cauliflower, broccoli, kohlrabi, carrots & tomatoes in the facility's Restorative Justice Garden. pic.twitter.com/9TUzwZPJDS

— MoCorrections (@MoCorrections) July 5, 2018
Men loading boxes of vegetables into a truck.

We're so excited to #feedMORE Missourians! Southeast Correctional Center just gave @semofoodbank 210 pounds of mustard greens grown in the facility’s garden. In May 2018 Restorative Justice Gardening Program participants volunteered 596 hours & donated 400 pounds of produce. 🥗 pic.twitter.com/M2FoGvMvi6

— MoCorrections (@MoCorrections) June 5, 2018
Bins full of strawberries

It's gardening season in DOC facilities! Boonville Correctional Center has donated 60 pounds of fresh strawberries to BoonslickSenior Center. Each year Restorative Justice Gardens yield more than 130 TONS of produce for donation to the community. 😋🍓 #WeServeMo pic.twitter.com/qN8b7CkCvP

— MoCorrections(@MoCorrections) June 4, 2018

Plants growing in a garden near a tall fence.

Gardening season is underway! The Restorative Justice garden & raised planters at WERDCC are ready to grow! In 2017 gardens in @MoCorrections facilities produced 133 tons of fresh vegetables & fruits for Missouri food banks, shelters and other organizations. pic.twitter.com/8GKj4Lwctd

— MoCorrections(@MoCorrections) May 31, 2018

Food Updates

Through a partnership among Southeast Correctional Center, La Croix Church in Cape Girardeu and Feed My Starving Children, 282 offenders and other volunteers have funded and packed 191,160 meals — enough to feed 523 hungry kids for a year.
twitter.com/MoCorrections/status/1239928741809225728