CSU Extension urban farm partnership celebrated at Richland Correctional Institution

Above: Retired wardens, inmates, local civic, and county and state government officials witnessed a ribbon-cutting ceremony for an expanded urban farming and teaching program led by Central State University Extension and local partners at the Richland Correctional Institution in Mansfield, Ohio. 

An estimated 100 corrections officers, retired wardens, inmates, local civic representatives, and county and state government officials recently witnessed a ribbon-cutting ceremony for an expanded urban farming and teaching program led by Central State University Extension and local partners at the Richland Correctional Institution in Mansfield, Ohio. 

Known as Flourish Farm, the 32-acre parcel is a specialty crop farm that provides an apprenticeship for inmates to complete the Specialty Crop Farm Manager program offered by CSU Extension. The farm has multiple fruit and vegetable plots for growing peppers, tomatoes, watermelon, cut flower gardens, a bee colony, as well as fruit and nut-producing trees in an agroforestry area. 

Several speakers commended Central State University's role in shaping the Richland Correctional Institution farm experiment into an education-based, prison-back-to-community program aimed to reduce recidivism.

"We ended up with Central State jump right on board to help with the other parts that literally said, 'Yes, we can help with the education piece,' which is so hugely important for our guys before they come home and the re-entry of our guys back into the community," said Kenneth Black, a retired warden from Richland Correction Institution.

"Good re-entry starts while people are still incarcerated," added Deanna West-Torrence, founder and CEO of the Mansfield-based North End Community Improvement Collaborative (NECIC), a local cooperative. "This gives these gentlemen an opportunity to get out and learn, and help economic prosperity as well."

In July, after four months of dedicated farming that began in March, 10 participating inmates and local urban farming co-ops celebrated their achievements at the farm. They were joined by representatives from the five partner organizations, community stakeholders, staff from the offices of Ohio U.S. Senators Sherrod Brown and J.D. Vance, and CSU Extension staff. Local visionary and farming hero Walt Bonham of the NECIC led the program. A successful pilot farming program last year on the same site yielded 6,000 pounds of produce that were donated to food banks.

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“Our goal was to shorten the gap between where produce is grown and where it goes. All the inmates in this program started just this year and have made so much progress,” said Bonham, one of several speakers who lauded both the organizational partners and the Richland Correction Institution inmates. 

Farming hours for the volunteering inmates were typically from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. with longer daylight during spring and summer months. On this day of celebrating a vision that turned into a visible reality, the delicious menu featured fresh fruit and vegetables cultivated at Flourish Farm.

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“They (the inmates) are not forced out here in any shape or form,” Bonham said. “There are other things that the prison offers; there are other things they could be doing. They decided to commit their time, commit their efforts, and to do something greater than themselves not only to provide food but to provide (a future opportunity) for others after them.” 

Other partners include the Richland Gro-Op, the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, and the Richland Foundation. 

“This farm happened because everyone involved made a conscious decision not to put up barriers. Everyone involved recognized that this is an opportunity to do some good for many people in the local community,” said Michelle Wallace, CSU Extension’s Agriculture and Natural Resources Educator for Northwest Region. 

Now in its second year, the CSU Extension-run Specialty Crop Farm Manager certificate program provides hands-on education for interested inmates at the Richland Correctional Institution. 

Wallace and Eric Smith, CSU Extension’s Community and Economic Development Regional Extension associate, jointly teach the on-site certificate program that combines specialty crop production with farm business management instruction. The program goal is to teach transferable skills in an in-demand field like agriculture to improve inmates’ chances of finding work post-release.  

“All of (the skills) are going to help (inmates) to do what they need to do to be successful when they leave (the prison),” said Annette Chambers-Smith, director of Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction. 

“We’ve been blessed to get away from all the negative energy inside those walls and work toward something positive and productive,” said a Richland Correctional Institution inmate who participates in the urban farm program and spoke during the ceremony.  

For more information about the CSU-run urban farming program at the Richland Correctional Institution, contact Michelle Wallace at mwallace@centralstate.edu or Eric Smith at esmith@centralstate.edu.