Branchville Donates Fresh Produce to
Local Organizations and Charities
Branchville, Ind. - Warden Kathy Alvey was pleased to share the news about the donation of 605 pounds of fresh produce to local schools, child care centers, food pantries and churches earlier this week.
The Branchville Correctional Facility Garden Project has been growing fresh fruits and vegetables for years which are donated to community food banks. The men serving their sentences plant, tend and pick more then ten thousand pounds of garden produce annually, which is grown on four acres of land at the correctional facility. This past Monday, was the second donation of fresh produce this season.
The garden is part of Branchville's Purposeful Living Units Serve (PLUS). For many of the men this is the first time they have had the opportunity to learn how to grow fruits and vegetables and see the results of their labors. Several of the men have expressed they want to continue gardening when they return to their hometowns.
As part of the Garden Project, participants with the PLUS unit are given small plots of land to tend, plant and pick what is ready for harvest. Pictured are several PLUS Unit men as they tend their plot.
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Perry Child Care's Wanita Lawson displays the green beans and pickles she was able to can from the donation made by Branchville toward the end of July. Ms. Lawson, who manages the child cares kitchen often recruits children of the care center to help snap beans, and wash produce in preparation for canning, freezing, and pickling.
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Officer Sodrel's next stop was the 7th Day Adventist Church in Tell City. Church members Judy and Steve Doss, pictured to the right, help coordinate the churche's food pantry The church was grateful for the donation of cucumbers, bell peppers, green beans and cabbage, which will be given to deserving families.
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Officer Sodrel's last stop of the day was to the Tell City Jr. Sr. High School Cafeteria. The school hosts a summer lunch program, free to anyone up to 18 years of age. The program was started in an effort to help youth in Tell City continue to receive nutritious daily lunches during their summer vacation. As a result of the pandemic, the lunch program became even more popular with teachers and staff helping with delivery of lunches several times a week to students and their families. Julie Wooldridge and John Smitson, employees at the school pictured to the left, were very grateful to receive the fresh produce on behalf of the school.
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The Branchville Correctional Facility Garden Project is an on going collaborative effort between the facility and the Purdue University Extension Cooperative.
For more information about the Branchville Garden Project please contact the facility Community Services Director Teri James at 812-843-4204 or email her at tjames1@idoc.in.gov .
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