On the other hand, this could be used as money making scheme for corrupt prison officials.
I agree...plus....knowing what I know about prisoners, I don’t want them anywhere near my food.
The last thing that I would want would be for convicts to be involved in any food that I might purchase. I’m appalled.
I believe most prison labor schemes are scuttled because labor unions, and I agree with them here, say it deprives gainful employment to law abiding citizens.
I’ve had goat cheese. Never had tilapia or trout cheese.
Prisons were a lot cheaper when they were self supporting.
I grew up near Southern Michigan state prison and they farmed several thousand acres. They produced all of their own food plus food for the Jackson county jail as well as ran a roadside vegetable stand. They baked thousands of loaves of bread every week.
When Is was a kindergartner I remember the prisoners working in the field right next to our house. I used to take my toy shotgun out and walk the 2 strand barbed wire fence with the guard on the other side of the fence with his shotgun.
Isn’t Whole Foods where the `Top Chefs’ TV cooking show contestants shop?
I also have mixed feelings about this. It’s certainly good to provide job training, but I am worried about corruption.
In response to the other comments, just replace “prisoners” and “convicts” with “Mexicans” and see if it changes how you feel about those tomatoes and broccoli down at the local supermarket.
If Whole Foods can't defend that program, they've lost their way. They didn't make their name by being all things to all people.
I live in Arkansas and over 50 years ago the Arkansas Prison System was self-funding, this going way back. They had a huge farm down there in the Gould and Wrightsville area. All of the prisoners worked on the farm, they had a Trustee System in place that worked, they had less than 50 state employees and the farms made enough money to run the prison system with a surplus that went to the State. Now we have over 800 state employees employed in the prison system. So why would anyone complain about prisoners growing food. It keeps them busy and some income coming in.
What if it is a free range convict?
Make the companies pay minimum wage, with most of the money going to help reimburse the cost of incarceration. That way it’s not unfair to competing businesses.
Something more constructive would be to make them go through garbage and separate the recyclables from the non.
The best bet, and really good PR for Whole Foods, would be to set up a prison *training* program. Then, while the prisoners are learning, get a subcontractor to set up a production facility that will supply Whole Foods, hiring the prisoners right out of prison.
The icing on the cake would be if they set up group halfway house residences for them. So, minimum rent; set up direct deposit bank accounts, so they can accumulate some wealth; inexpensive prepared meals three times a day, etc.
Make it a good enough deal so that when their probation is done, they want to stay there for a while longer until they are in a good situation before migrating to different jobs and other situations in an orderly manner with much less stress.
I’m glad to see prisoners working but I wish they would grow something tastier than tilapia.
I would recommend to everyone Prison Blues, which are the jeans made in the Oregon state prison at Pendleton. Prisoners need to work.