With that said, there's a relatively easy fix to all this. The New York Times article that I cited above introduces us to the warden of a Maine state prison, Randall Liberty. Liberty is the son of a former prisoner who grew up on public assistance and who became a master certified gardener and beekeeper.
When he became a warden, the article says, he was "horrified" to learn that leftover food was being thrown away every day. He introduced a class to teach prisoners how to compost, and he immediately instituted a mandatory composting policy. This resulted in a fertile two-and-a-half acre garden that now produces much of the prison's food, including 77,000 pounds of apples annually.
Many are consumed in-house, and all the excess is sent to neighboring prisons. The program saves millions of dollars a year and it keeps prisoners healthy, busy, and learning how to farm. There's literally no downside. So why isn't every prison doing this?
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