Inmates save their jail thousands of dollars by growing vegetables
As the weather warms up, a group of Louisiana inmates have begun planting vegetables at a farm near their jail.
The 10 inmates grow food for themselves and the other 1,400 inmates at at Bossier Minimum Security Facility.
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Inmates grow potatoes, peas, squash, peppers, okra, cucumbers, tomatoes, corn and onions, saving the jail around $30,000 per year in food costs, according to KTBS, a local ABC affiliate.
Jail officials expect to add more inmates to the program. So far, only inmates convicted of nonviolent crimes are participating.
Inmates at Bossier Minimum Security Facility harvested more than 37,000 pounds of vegetables last year, including around 16,000 pounds of squash.
Inmates also grew watermelons and cantaloupes, as well as corn, cucumbers, okra and tomatoes.
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Colin is Mashable's US & World Reporter. He previously interned at Foreign Policy magazine and The American Prospect. Colin is a graduate from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. When he's not at Mashable, you can most likely find him eating or playing some kind of sport.
