Vegetarian Star

Charlie Trotter

Chicago based chef who’s appeared on a PBS cooking show and has a cameo appearance in “My Best Friend’s Wedding,” Charlie Trotter, gives the seal of approval to an Illinois program that allows low risk inmates to cultivate vegetables in a garden that are shipped to local food banks.

The Sheriff’s Garden Program was started 17 years ago at the Cook County Jail. After participants learn to plant, water, pull weeds and other tasks necessary to maintain a garden, they earn a master gardener’s certificate from the University of Illinois extension program and participate in a graduation ceremony at the end of the summer.

“We give this the official Charlie Trotters good housekeeping seal of approval,” Trotter, who’s used the products of the inmate’s hard work, said. “And, if it’s good enough for us to serve, it better be good enough for you to eat.”

Sheriff Tom Dart says the inmates will often tell him it’s one, if not the only, positive accomplishment they’ve experienced.

“They’ll freely tell you this is the first time they’ve ever started out to do something and completed it. And so for them there’s this level of achievement that we take for granted that they’ve never had before that is really neat to see.”

Unfortunately, there are more jails and prisoners than we have organic and local farmers. Programs like the Sheriff’s Garden Program provide another perfect opportunity to feed people with local items and reduce emissions from transporting food if implemented in other cities.

via Huffington Post

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