2,845 lbs. of veggies from PCF garden donated to Food Pantry

Saturday, August 10, 2013
Courtesy photo
Putnam County Emergency Food Pantry Director Judy Miller (center) joins Betty McBride (left) in accepting vegetables in a recent donation from the Putnamville Correctional Facility, represented by Michael Rains, Barbara Auman and Brenda Gullett.

PUTNAMVILLE -- Brenda Gullett, vocational horticulture instructor, and 20 offenders assigned to the Horticulture Program at the Putnamville Correctional Facility have harvested 2,845 pounds of vegetables for donation to the Putnam County Emergency Food Pantry in Greencastle.

Containers of cucumbers, tomatoes, squash, green beans, onions, cabbage, zucchini and a variety of peppers were delivered to the food pantry recently by Assistant Superintendent Michael Rains and Putnamville Education Site Manager Barbara Auman.

"We got a late start, but the guys did a great job!" Gullett gushed over the array of veggies.

"They tilled, planted, pulled weeds, hauled water and chased critters away from the garden," she added. "Many (PCF offenders) remarked that they had been in the same position (in need of food) and were glad to be able to contribute something to people in the community needing food, too."

Another 400 pounds of vegetables will be delivered within the next week, and by summer's end, Putnamville-planted eggplant, tomatillos, pumpkins, cantaloupe and butternut squash will be ready for harvest and delivery.

When presented with the delivery totals, a much-impressed PCF Superintendent Stanley Knight thanked staff members for their hard work.

"I am very grateful for everyone's effort in making this garden such a success," Knight said. "While the numbers are impressive, the real satisfaction comes from knowing we are helping a lot of folks eat who might otherwise have to do without."

Putnamville Correctional Facility's education and vocational efforts, like the Horticulture Program, are contracted through Oakland City University.

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