The Cook County Sheriff’s Office has started a composting pilot program at the jail’s Central Kitchen, collecting about 18,900 pounds of compostable waste in its first two weeks. The initiative began on August 19 and connects the Cook County Department of Corrections’ food preparation efforts with its Urban Farming Program. This farming program gives people in custody agricultural and organic farming training and produces fresh produce that is sold at local farmer’s markets.
Sheriff Thomas J. Dart commented on the program’s goals: “There’s a transformative power of working with your hands and this program adds another dimension. When individuals learn to grow food, prepare meals, and return food waste back into the earth, they gain skills that foster both self-sufficiency and sustainability, a never-ending cycle.”
The composting effort is being run in partnership with WasteNot, Inc., a Chicago-based company focused on reducing greenhouse gases by keeping waste out of landfills. WasteNot CEO Liam Donnelly provided training for Central Kitchen workers on how to identify food scraps suitable for composting and explained how these practices can be used as job skills.
Collected compost is picked up three times each week and processed at WasteNot’s commercial facility. The finished product will be brought back in the spring to help support the jail’s ongoing Urban Farming and Garden programs.
The garden program has operated for over 25 years, providing more than 50 tons of fresh produce to non-profits, teaching horticulture to over 500 individuals in custody, certifying more than 200 Master Gardeners, and generating funds for jail programs.
More information about enrichment programs at CCDOC can be found on their website.