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.
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/1420105283255377927The 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
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
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/1286714590949183495In 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
To #feedMORE Missourians during the COVID-19 crisis, @DSS_Missouri is coordinating plant donations for prison gardens, where offender-volunteers grow fresh food for Missouri food banks. The 1,084 tomato & 871 bell pepper plants donated so far could yield 32K pounds of produce.twitter.com/MoCorrections/status/1265716321196670976
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
During #NAW2019, we're celebrating registered apprenticeships offered in Missouri prisons. Offenders in Southeast Missouri learn growing techniques & get hands-on hydroponic gardening experience at @amanzifarms, prepping them for ag jobs after release. http://ow.ly/DsJT50x72p
The pumpkin harvest is underway at at Northeast Correctional Center. So far this season NECC's Restorative Justice Garden has yielded 4,792 pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables for donation to food banks and other organizations. 🍅🌽🌶🥔 pic.twitter.com/qHOvZ2dHZL
— Missouri Department of Corrections (@MoCorrections) September 30, 2019
Students in the professional gardening class at Northeast Correctional Center grew this fresh produce for a food pantry in Louisiana, Missouri. The facility has donated more than 450 pounds of fruits & vegetables so far this season to help #feedMORE Missourians. pic.twitter.com/fbr639abhP
— Missouri Department of Corrections (@MoCorrections) September 23, 2019
Working all summer to #feedMORE Missourians! In July, Boonville Correctional Center harvested more than 2,500 pounds of fresh produce grown by offenders in prison gardens. All donated to food pantries & senior centers in Boonville, Fayette, Glasgow, New Franklin & Prairie Home. pic.twitter.com/k2vGnbAEgx
— Missouri Department of Corrections (@MoCorrections) July 31, 2019
Watch this awesome video by @stlarchs to see how offenders grow in this Horticulture Specialist Apprenticeship Program with Amanzi Farms. Upon release, participants leave with multiple certifications, passion for hard work, & love for nurturing plants. https://ow.ly/KPbF30mF7Fepic.twitter.com/Qzr3HJTzUO
Western Missouri Correctional Center donated 400 pounds of pumpkins to the Caldwell County Health Department & Kingston School this week. In 2018, the prison has donated 29,621 pounds of produce grown in its Restorative Justice Garden to help #feedMORE Missourians. #WeServeMOpic.twitter.com/CG6yXjynki
Last week Boonville Correctional Center donated 51 pounds of fresh produce to @HarvestHouseInc & 221 pounds to @TheFoodBankMO. These tomatoes + squash, zucchini, peppers, radishes, purple beans, okra, watermelon & canteloupe were grown in the prison's Restorative Justice Gardens. pic.twitter.com/pa6qGPumIM
Check out the beans Boonville Correctional Center donated this week to the Fayette Food Pantry! Donations also included cabbage, zucchini, cauliflower, radishes, okra, peppers, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, watermelons & turnip greens -- all grown in Restorative Justice Gardens. pic.twitter.com/1l7pd4RfYs
"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 @columbiatribunehttps://t.co/qgeQ1rGIgZpic.twitter.com/ggF6l8SPEV
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/msl9AWkroQpic.twitter.com/etYeAir9QG
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. #feedMOREhttps://t.co/LYD8qFAKpwpic.twitter.com/I0XuKkHALZ
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
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/xEX9LL0UBupic.twitter.com/o0rOylhIAi
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
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/baMW6SvQY9pic.twitter.com/kpXjAMwxEx
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
Check out @kfvsnews KFVS-TV's wonderful coverage of our Restorative Justice Gardens! "Being able to give back. That is what it all boils down to,” Bernard Rhymes Jr. says. "It's a good feeling." https://t.co/drK6eBqu8Epic.twitter.com/OsEm1YIwel
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
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
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. 😋🍓 #WeServeMopic.twitter.com/qN8b7CkCvP
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
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
Did we say 150,000 meals? Make that 163,000! SECC offenders packed enough meals yesterday to feed 447 kids for a year! AFTER raising $11K to fund the @fmsc_orgproject. “For most of us, this is what redemption looks like,” said Jonathan Leaks. @kfvsnews: https://t.co/unXzVrmVAxpic.twitter.com/jz8wDSCqIg
— Missouri Department of Corrections (@MoCorrections) April 18, 2019
Right now 161 offender-volunteers, 15 volunteers & 40 staff members at Southeast Correctional Center are packing 150,000 meals for distribution to food-insecure families around the world through @fmsc_org. The event follows fundraisers that brought in $11,000 in donations. 💙 pic.twitter.com/hagVt86DEh
— Missouri Department of Corrections (@MoCorrections) April 17, 2019
Right now 161 offender-volunteers, 15 volunteers & 40 staff members at Southeast Correctional Center are packing 150,000 meals for distribution to food-insecure families around the world through @fmsc_org. The event follows fundraisers that brought in $11,000 in donations. 💙 pic.twitter.com/hagVt86DEh