The Saskatoon Food Bank and St. Mary’s Community School received about 20,000 pounds worth of produce Tuesday thanks to the Saskatoon Correctional Centre’s Urban Camp.
The vegetables were grown in the urban camp’s Garden of Hope by both inmates and staff.
Seeds, gardening tools and construction material are donated by local businesses.
Saskatchewan Corrections and Policing Minister Christine Tell says in a release, “The Garden of Hope is a powerful symbol of the urban camp inmates’ determination to better themselves and contribute to the local community.”
To date, the Garden of Hope has yielded about 61,000 pounds of vegetables which has all been donated.
The urban camp has been in operation since 1981 and is geared toward providing inmates who are close to release with some hands on work experience at the community level.
This is the fourth year of the garden program.