Richland Gro-Op
Building Sustainable Communities with Incarcerated Individuals
Mansfield, Ohio is home to two prisons, which collectively have the capacity to house over 5,000 men. The Richland Gro-Op, a farmers’ cooperative formed in 2018, offers hands-on training and encouragement to a small group of these inmates who wish to increase their knowledge of urban farming, as well as give their time back to the community. So what does this have to do with climate change and environmental justice? For the farmers involved in the training and support of these men, EVERYTHING!
The GrowFourth Urban Farm, and the North End Community Improvement Collaborative Urban Farm sites, are situated in the low opportunity neighborhood of Mansfield, where crime, drugs, poverty, food insecurity and a struggling school system plague its residents. Abandoned homes, vacant lots overgrown with weeds, factories and granaries, and close proximity to interstates depress the area significantly. When the opportunity arose to provide hands-on training for these guys, Walt Bonham, the NECIC farm manager, jumped at the chance. Walt recognizes that sustainable and healthy communities need ALL of its people invested.
Communities thrive when identities within them can be reconstructed for positive and lasting investments, even if those investments had previously been destructive. All members of a community have the right to be valued, heard and redeemed, and when a community embraces such a mindset, sustainability in all of its forms will flourish.
The on-site farm training consists of teaching the workers each step of the food production process, from selecting and planting seed, to harvesting. The workers are taught about how to improve soil (a major issue in urban agricultural settings), reduce erosion and evaporation with cover cropping, water conservation with drip irrigation, and small-scale practices that eliminate the use of large fossil-fuel dependent machinery.
They are also invested in the work. These men learn and develop the skills needed to acquire meaningful micro-farm employment upon release. Mansfield has a generous land-bank program, where vacant city lots can be purchased for $350. With soil remediation skills, a generous “seed library” at the local library, and a land grant university nearby with agricultural extension expertise available, it is entirely possible for these individuals to develop their own successful micro-farming business, leading to long-term sustainable income for themselves and their families. This is further enhanced by relationships developed while working side by side with farmers who educate and support these efforts.
Finally, a sustainable social model for any community to follow is one that embraces those who, regardless of their past or present, desire to participate and invest in that community. When a community embraces those who are marginalized and accepts them into the fold with encouragement and grace, children will understand this to be the norm. As they grow and mature and develop into contributing members of society, it will be a normal practice to invite those in who wish to belong. Sustainable communities are their healthiest and strongest when refuge and acceptance are woven into its fibers and the contributions of all members are recognized as meaningful. Land will be re-purposed for the health and good of many, the subsequent beautification will inspire and encourage, and healthier and more resilient neighbors will fight for what, together, they have had the courage and tenacity to build. Something that is worth protecting.
Amanda Stanfield is owner of GrowFourth Urban Farm.