Published October 27 2021

Corrections Clients Grew 200,000 Pounds of Free Food for Waldo County in 2021

Waldo County Bounty pitched in by providing in-demand seeds and other materials

By Mattie John Bamman

On a later summer day, six men toil amid rows of crops overlooking the Goose River just south of Swanville. At first, the scene seems like a classic snapshot of Waldo County farm life, then you see Captain Robert Walker surveying the fields, his badge gleaming in the afternoon light, and crop rows bear names like “Choices/Consequences Lane.” The toiling men are serving their final months in the Maine Department of Corrections, and they are growing fresh produce to give to the community at no cost as part of the Waldo County Garden Project located in Swanville. 

Before you imagine a Cool Hand Luke-like scenario, this is no prison labor camp but a voluntary program open to Maine Department of Corrections residents who are completing the final 6 to 18 months of their sentence. To participate, residents must fill out an application and undergo a lengthy vetting process. “It’s a lot like applying for college,” says Major Ray Porter, Waldo County Corrections Administration. 

Begun ten years ago, the County Garden in Swanville is produced by the Maine Coastal Regional Reentry Center (MCRRC) with support from its partners, who include the Waldo County Sheriff’s Office, Volunteers of America Northern New England, and other local stakeholders. The MCRRC County Garden Project has not only provided nutritious fruits and vegetables for food pantries, churches, the YMCA, and other organizations in Waldo County, but reduced recidivism rates, the rates at which offenders return to the prison system.

“When the program started, the national average for recidivism rates – as recorded by the U.S. Bureau of Statistics – was 70 percent,” says Major Porter. “We have seen our local rates drop to 31 percent.” Graduates of the program are also paying more money to victims, about $20,000 more a year on average, in such forms as court-ordered restitution as part of their sentencing and back child support.

When I visited, 14 acres were planted with tomatoes, carrots, butternut squash, peppers, corn, potatoes, onions, fruit trees, and more. As Captain Walker showed me around, one question buzzed through my mind like the bees in the zucchini flowers: How could all of this have come about from growing vegetables?

Community Stakeholders 

Studies regularly report the wellness benefits of gardening for individuals, but the County Garden Project appears to be fostering wellness in the Waldo County community as a whole. It begins with the participants. Many MCRRC clients lived lives in which positive social encounters were few and far between—think of challenges related to addiction, poverty, and complicated family lives. Through the Reentry Center Garden program, they receive the opportunity to grow food, deliver it to those in need, and witness how they have positively impacted society for themselves.

“The opposite of addiction is connection,” says Chief Deputy Jason Trundy of the Waldo County Sheriff's Office. “The program lets offenders come out of the shadows and meaningfully connect with others. Too often, people use labels—cop, convict—and we are working against that. When you do that, you begin to see that we have more in common than what separates us.”

It takes two to connect, and Trundy says the people in Waldo County have played a pivotal role in the program’s success. For instance, community stakeholders have offered jobs to program graduates and invested capital in the initiative.

How Waldo County Bounty Pitched In

Standing among twisting vines, Captain Walker lifted a butternut squash weighing four pounds into the air. But coordinating this year’s crops wasn’t a smooth road: There were pandemic-related challenges.

“It was really difficult to find seeds,” says Captain Walker. “My supervisor said we should get started all the way in early January, and he was right: It took three months to find the seeds we needed. It typically takes a couple weeks.”.

The Waldo County Bounty Gleaning Program was able to contribute to the cause by facilitating donations of seeds and other garden materials from such businesses as Southpaw Farm, Fedco Seeds, Songbird Farm, and Johnny’s Select Seeds. We donated one thousand pounds of seed potatoes, which produced five thousand pounds of potatoes this year, as well as pepper plants, melon seedlings, and four thousand onion starts. The year before, we contributed apple, peach, and other fruit tree saplings in addition to seedlings. Gleaning in Waldo County is run by Veggies For All, a partnership with Unity Barn Raisers, which was staffed until recently by Mary Leaming.

“Mary has always been there to support us,” says Walker, reflecting on her work over the years.

“Both Veggies For All and the County Garden see our work as important avenues in which to get more fresh, local foods into the hands of the Waldo County residents who are most in need,” says Leaming. Today, Leaming serves as the president of Waldo County Bounty.

2021 Results at the Reentry Center’s Gardens 

“We had phenomenal corn this year,” said Captain Walker. “The carrots weren’t so great, but onions, potatoes, butternut squash, summer squash were all really plentiful.”

Captain Walker estimates the garden in Swanville produced around 200,000 pounds of food in 2021. This is up from 100,000 pounds in 2017. The garden recently added refrigeration, and this has improved quality by keeping the crops fresher longer. 

Before I left, I had to ask Captain Walker about the unique names of the crop rows. “They come from the ‘The Four Agreements’ by Don Miguel Ruíz,” said Captain Walker, referencing a book used in treating addiction. “We made signs with quotes from the book, and the person who plants a row can name it using the quote of his choosing.”

Mattie John Bamman serves as Waldo County Bounty’s Communication Coordinator. An author and editor, he has more than 15 years of experience helping people share stories around the world.