{"id":39945,"date":"2022-09-01T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-09-01T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thelandmark.testsite.cherryroad.news\/2022\/09\/01\/jail-farm-celebrates-10-years-250000-pounds-of-donated-produce\/"},"modified":"2022-09-01T06:00:00","modified_gmt":"2022-09-01T10:00:00","slug":"jail-farm-celebrates-10-years-250000-pounds-of-donated-produce","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/2022\/09\/01\/jail-farm-celebrates-10-years-250000-pounds-of-donated-produce\/","title":{"rendered":"Jail farm celebrates 10 years, 250,000 pounds of donated produce"},"content":{"rendered":"
Community Content<\/b><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

Worcester County Jail Celebrates 10 Years and 250,000 lbs. of Donated Produce from Inmate Run Organic Farm<\/p>\n

WEST BOYLSTON \u2014 For more than a decade, inmates have been growing fresh produce on the organic farm at the Worcester County Jail. Harvests have not only benefitted dozens of Worcester County food banks, senior centers, soup kitchens, veteran\u2019s groups and charitable organizations, but also inmates at the jail.<\/p>\n

The 14-plus acre operation produces roughly 500 pounds of fresh produce every day during growing season. By the end of that season, harvests total approximately 40,000 pounds.<\/p>\n

From zucchinis to apples, a wide array of crops is grown at the West Boylston facility.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe created this program to provide an ultra-low-cost solution to off\u008fer fresh food to our communities,\u201d said Worcester County Sheriff Lew Evangelidis. \u201cCommunity members have access to fresh, beautiful, organic produce grown at the Worcester County Jail. I\u2019m so proud to have a program that requires little funding and helps so many people.\u201d<\/p>\n

More than 12,000 pounds of fresh produce have already been dispersed to local organizations this year. Every day, inmates pick and wash the produce before it is distributed throughout the county.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe sheriff\u008f has been committed for many years to providing fresh produce to those we serve,\u201d said Aj Alkire, president of the Webster Dudley Food Share. \u201cWe appreciate the sheriff\u008f and his track record of supporting our organization. There is a tremendous need in our communities for these veggies.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe relationship between Catholic Charities of Worcester County and the Worcester County Sheriff\u008f\u2019s Office is strong,\u201d said Angelique Bodziak, program director for Catholic Charities of Worcester County. \u201cSheriff\u008f Evangelidis\u2019 organic farm has made an impactful difference on our operations. The donations have allowed us to work with other community partners to deliver fresh produce to those who need it most.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since taking office in 2011, Evangelidis has remained committed to not only creating but expanding the organic farm. After a multi-acre expansion under Evangelids\u2019 leadership, the Worcester County Jail boasts the largest organic farm on a correctional facility in Massachusetts.<\/p>\n

Project New Hope executive director Bill Moore said, \u201cWe are grateful to Sheriff Evangelidis for thinking of us and donating fresh organic vegetables from the jail\u2019s farm to our veterans’ food pantry. The farm gives back in many ways, helping their inmates with the dignity of work while acquiring the skills of farming, all while knowing they are helping so many folks in need in our community.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Uxbridge Senior Center sincerely appreciates the contribution of fresh vegetables provided by the sheriff\u2019s department,\u201d said Uxbridge Senior Center executive director Lisa Bernard. \u201cSome of the vegetables are used by our chef in our hot lunch program at the center, which is open to local residents Monday through Friday. We also distribute the organic vegetables from the sheriff\u008f\u2019s farm to folks in our community. This program helps make a difference to so many during this difficult time. Thanks again Sheriff Evangelidis for always thinking of us.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe organic farm works to benefit many organizations throughout Worcester County,\u201d Evangelidis said. \u201cIn addition to our charitable work, thousands of pounds of produce are used here in the kitchens of the West Boylston facility to feed the inmate population. The organic farm initiative equates to tens of thousands of dollars in food cost savings. With soaring food costs, it is more important now than ever to provide fresh produce to those who can least afford it.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Worcester County Jail Celebrates 10 Years and 250,000 lbs. of Donated Produce from Inmate Run Organic Farm WEST BOYLSTON \u2014 For more than a decade, inmates have been growing fresh produce on the organic farm at the Worcester County Jail. Harvests have not only benefi\u0081tted dozens of Worcester County food banks, senior centers, soup kitchens, veteran\u2019s groups and charitable organizations, but also inmates at the jail.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":39948,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_gspb_post_css":"","_sitemap_exclude":false,"_sitemap_priority":"","_sitemap_frequency":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-39945","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"blocksy_meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39945","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39945"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39945\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39948"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39945"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39945"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39945"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}