Garden saves taxpayers and provides fresh vegetables for inmates

PONTOTOC, MISS. (WCBI) – Operating a jail is expensive. It requires around the clock staffing and other costs, including food.

But for years now, Pontotoc County has saved money on its grocery bill by putting inmates to work.

Not long after he was elected, Pontotoc County Sheriff Leo Mask began using nearly 50 acres of property near the jail as a garden.

On a recent afternoon, trustees were tilling the soil.

“Right now we’ve got corn, squash, tomatoes, okra. We’ve got some butter beans planted and peas planted,” Sheriff Mask said.

Inside the jail’s freezers, there’s about a year’s supply of vegetables from the garden that feeds the inmates.

“It costs us approximately a dollar twenty a day to feed a person, this is a lot of savings to taxpayers of the county, ” the sheriff said.

Taxpayers aren’t the only ones who benefit,  inmates get fresh vegetables and produce with each meal.  And for some trustees who work the garden, it’s an opportunity to learn a new skill and also to get outside for a few hours everyday.

“Most all the guys want to come out and work,  they like working in the garden, it’s hard work, at night they lay down and go to sleep, you don’t have a lot of foolishness going on at night with these guys,” Mask said.

The community also helps out by donating fertilizer, other supplies and Sav-A-Lot donated a cooler last year.

Mask says money saved helps boost the department’s budget.

Monroe County also has a working jail garden which is used to feed inmates.