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A Look at Mahanoy's Therapeutic Garden

Tags: Mahanoy
May 22, 2019 12:00 AM
By: DOC Staff

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Inmates plant a garden at SCI MahanoySpring is in the air which means gardening season for A Housing Unit and B Housing Unit inmates at SCI Mahanoy. The sign-up list is growing—and soon it will not be the only thing growing. Staff and inmates are getting excited about the planning, preparation, shopping for plants and finally the planting.

The Residential Treatment Unit (RTU) garden on A Housing Unit started out to be a therapeutic activity for the inmates on the treatment unit. It was a plot approximately the size of 12'x24' but has been expanded due to the addition of more treatment units. The current garden is approximately 40'x60' and it is taken care of by the staff and inmates on A Blocks RTU's. The inmates ask all throughout the year whether the prison will be having the garden again this year—they look forward to the garden every year. They enjoy learning about the planting and caring for the vegetables they plant. They enjoy watching them grow and also being able to taste some of the harvest. They work hard throughout the growing season and although the harvest isn't huge they get to enjoy what they have grown. They have planted a variety of vegetables, and when possible some of the harvest—such as tomatoes and peppers—are used as a Bingo prize.

The garden also brings in an overabundance of mint, and the inmates are allowed to have some for adding to coffee or tea. They really enjoy being able to taste fresh produce from the garden that they grew. The majority of the harvest is sent to the kitchen staff, and they make something for the RTU inmates and deliver it to the unit for distribution. Some of the amazing foods on the RTU's throughout the years consisted of squash soup, sunflower seeds, salad, pickles, salsa and chips. This is unique to the RTU on A Block since they do the work in the garden. The kitchen staff does an amazing job under the supervision of Food Service Manager 2 Cheryl Stanitis to make this successful.  The gardening experience at SCI Mahanoy is truly a wonderful therapeutic activity!

The Residential Treatment Unit on B Housing Unit is new this year. The inmates will be growing fruit and vegetables and, once harvested, will either donate the items to the Food Service Department or use them as prizes for games conducted on the unit. The inmates on this unit are also very excited and believe that this will be very therapeutic for them as they grow the garden this year.


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