|
|
| Philadelphia’s Prison System is Fighting Food Waste and Recidivism with an Organic Farm |
| By civileats.com- Amy McKeever |
| Published: 10/17/2016 |
|
The butternut squash has outdone itself on this two-year-old organic farm in Northeast Philadelphia. Hundreds of the winter squashes—753 to be exact—are stacked up high in the bed of a gold pickup, but many more await harvesting. Three workers crouch in the green rows surrounded by peach and figs trees, as well as beds that have already in their short lifespans borne eggplant, watermelons, and more. One by one, the workers toss more squash into wheelbarrows. This small and unusual farm was once a construction site. Its three acres back on to the Pennypack Creek, a winding tributary that empties about a half mile away in the Delaware River. Overlooking the orchard’s entrance is the Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Center, a red brick building surrounded by two layers of barbed wire fencing and light towers. This is a prison farm, and the workers in the rows are inmates from another nearby minimum security facility. Sustainability has not been a high priority in most prison systems. But in 2011, the National Institute of Corrections began encouraging “the greening of correctional facilities” through actions on energy consumption, waste, and re-use, and offering incarcerated people green job training. Read More. |
MARKETPLACE search vendors | advanced search
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
|
Comments:
No comments have been posted for this article.
Login to let us know what you think