MANSFIELD — Annette Chambers-Smith described the NECIC urban agricultural site as “one of the best partnerships” she’s seen as director of the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction.
The farm is a public-private partnership between the Richland Correctional Institution, the North End Community Improvement Collaborative, Central State University and other partners.
Elected officials, community members and participating inmates gathered Monday to celebrate the program’s growth.
“I challenge every warden of every prison to get out into your community and figure out how your prison can be a partner,” Chambers-Smith said.
“They’re learning all of these soft skills — vital skills — showing up on time, problem solving, being dependable, carrying through a project from beginning to end, volunteering for a community. All of those things are going to help our people do what they need to do to be successful when they leave.
“This farm helps us secure the grounds, it helps our incarcerated people get employed. It even helps with the culture inside of the prison.”
The 32-acre farm is leased land from Richland Correctional Institution. The site features an agroforest with different trees, a bee colony, flower gardens and multiple fruit and vegetable plots growing peppers, tomatoes, watermelon and more.
“All of [these skills] are going to help our people do what they need to do to be successful when they leave.”
— Annette Chambers-Smith, Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction director
Retired warden Kenneth Black said NECIC founder and CEO Deanna West-Torrence and farm consultant Walt Bonham took him to the urban farm at 6th Street and Bowman a few years ago.
“One of the biggest things they talked about was needing more space to grow,” he said. “They needed land to get bigger and they had already worked with some of our incarcerated population on work release.
“Walt and Central State University work with our guys wherever they can meet them. We have guys who can’t come out here, but they go inside. They break up their time between all three levels that we have here and a lot of it is volunteering their time, so we’re very appreciative.”
Flourish Farm helps inmates gain skills, agriculture certificates
Inmates have the opportunity to learn hands-on farming skills as well as classroom instruction in business and agricultural classes through a partnership with Central State University.
They can participate in apprenticeship hours and about 70 hours of instruction to earn certificates in specialty crop production.
The program also offers community service opportunities and potential sentence reductions for inmates. There are about 10 current participants who work on the farm five days a week.
Michelle Wallace, regional agricultural and natural resources educator for Central State University, said there are more than 2.4 million jobs in the U.S. agriculture industry that do not have trained employees to fill them.
“This farm happened because everyone involved made a conscious decision not to put up barriers,” Wallace said.
“Everyone involved recognized that this was an opportunity to do some good for many people in the local community. Plants have the magical ability to heal people.”
Participating inmates decided to name the agricultural site “Flourish Farm” because of their personal and community goals in the program.
“We’ve been blessed to get away from all the negative energy inside those walls and work toward something positive and productive.”
— Richland Correctional Institution inmate
“With more programs, farms and support from people like you, we as individuals can flourish, our communities can flourish and the environment can flourish,” an inmate said.
“I can tell you that this has, hands down, been one of the most rewarding programs I’ve participated in and I think the rest of the guys would agree.
“Not only are we getting a wealth of knowledge, skills and experience, but we get to help feed people in the process.”
Flourish Farm will provide produce to farmers markets, food banks
Flourish Farm’s produce will supply the Richland Gro-Op, farmers markets and food banks around the state. The farm is a partner in the Department of Agriculture’s Ohio CAN program.
Deanna West-Torrence, founder and CEO of NECIC, said she is proud of how the partnership will decrease food insecurity and aid inmates in reentry after they serve their sentence.
“We know that good re-entry starts when people are still incarcerated,” she said. “This gives these gentlemen an opportunity to get out and learn and advance their skills and our community’s economic prosperity as well.
“One huge plus is the reutilization of vacant land. I cannot tell you how many people I’ve heard be excited about the farm becoming a farm again.”
Walt Bonham, NECIC farm consultant, said Flourish Farm grew from the urban farm idea starting six years ago.
“Our goal was to shorten the gap between where produce is grown and where it goes,” he said. “All the inmates in this program started just this year and have made so much progress in three months.
“There’s other programs the prison offers, there’s other things they can be doing with their time, but they come out between 7:30 in the morning and 8:30 at night committing their efforts to doing something greater than themselves.”
Flourish Farm is supported by NECIC, the Richland Gro-Op, the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, the Richland County Foundation and Central State University.
Representatives from Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose and Ohio senators Sherrod Brown and J.D. Vance also shared their congratulations at Monday’s ceremony.
“This 30-plus acre farm is an extraordinary achievement reflecting a commitment to sustainable agriculture, education and rehabilitation,” said Beth Bigham, a representative of Sen. J.D. Vance.
J.T. Huffer-Cole also read a proclamation from Sen. Sherrod Brown.
“This unique partnership will ensure Richland County is at the forefront of urban agriculture in Ohio,” he read. “Thank you to NECIC for your continued dedication to our community, the work you have done and the work you will do for many years to come.”
Individuals or businesses interested in supporting Flourish Farm can contact NECIC for donations of money, equipment, food starters or volunteering.
