Inmates help feed the hungry

Johnston Correctional Institution and Johnston Community College are partnering in a program to raise fruits and vegetables to help feed the hungry. Twenty-four inmates at the Division of Prisons facility in Johnston County started planting seeds this week which will be harvested and donated to the Plant A Row for the Hungry organization.

Inmates plant seeds to help feed the hungry

Plant A Row is a public service program of the Garden Writers Association and the GWA Foundation. Gardeners are asked to plant an extra row of produce each year and donate their surplus to local food banks, soup kitchens and service organizations to help feed America’s hungry.

Phil Beaumont, a horticulturist with Johnston Community College, supervises the project along with prison programs supervisor Annie Reid. Inmates began planting such vegetables as beans, squash, corn, melons, carrots, peas and other vegetables along with some fruits.

All funds for the project supplies are donated from the Inmate Welfare Fund.