![]() "The biggest thing is knowing we've fed so many people and to be part of something bigger than myself," Antoine, another gardener, said. The gardeners described other benefits as well: being outside, whether under the sun or in a soothing rain gaining peace of mind feeling relaxed and less stressed and envisioning a future full of hope rather than anger and despair. "We're told the people are appreciative of getting the vegetables," said Mike, who called himself a cradle Catholic. With the growing season set to last at least through mid-October, this year's 15,000-pound goal is within reach. Elizabeth Center in nearby Lorain have received 12,500 pounds of fresh vegetables. This year alone, Catholic Charities food programs at the Bishop Cosgrove Center in downtown Cleveland and St. He enjoys the peace and tranquility the garden provides. It's Mike's third growing season, working in what started as a small garden in 2020 in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic and expanding each year since. "It's a way to give something back," Mike said. They appreciate that the produce in their care is feeding hungry people at the Diocese of Cleveland Catholic Charities' pantry and meal programs. Mike, who like the other inmates asked that only his first name be used for this story, explained that it's important to take care of not just the tomatoes, but the zucchini, cabbage, peppers, lettuce, onions and squash he and a team of 23 incarcerated men are growing. The men continue their work as the sun rises on an unseasonably cool late August day over this one-acre garden plot on the grounds of the Grafton Correctional Institution, in rural Lorain County 30 miles southwest of Cleveland. Thor, another garden worker a couple of rows away, tosses a ball of cloth strips to Dave, who makes a deft left-handed catch, careful not to drop the tomatoes in his other hand. Dave finds a spot to tie the vine to a trellis with a strip of cloth. Satisfied that all the vines have been tied, he walks to a nearby row to give a hand to his friend Dave, who's cradling in his right hand a cluster of plump green fruit on the verge of ripening. ![]() His blue prison work pants and gray shirt spotted with mud, Mike scans a row of tomato vines to see if he has missed tying off any that might still be on the ground after a recent thunderstorm pelted the plants with heavy rain, wind and hail.
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