An unlikely partnership between the incarcerated men at Grafton Correctional Institution in Grafton and the Diocese of Cleveland has evolved into a strong relationship during the past few years.
As a thank-you to the men at Grafton – specifically the “sewers and growers” -- Catholic Charities, Diocese of Cleveland, hosted a dinner at the prison recently featuring some of their requested foods: fried chicken and macaroni and cheese. The guests also enjoyed chocolate or white cake for desert. The meal was served by volunteers and administrators from Catholic Charities.
The men and their guests also enjoyed a special treat: a hearty, stew-like vegetable soup made by Valentine Terrel, program coordinator at the Bishop Cosgrove Center in downtown Cleveland. Terrel used vegetables grown by the men for the soup, which earned rave reviews.
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“I am passionate about feeding people. I didn’t use a recipe. It was just a little of this and some of that,” Terrel said. Among the vegetables grown at Grafton that found their way into the soup were string beans, squash, zucchini and tomatoes. She saved and froze some of the vegetables from the Grafton garden throughout the growing season in order to have them for the soup.
Grafton’s vegetable garden has earned praise from many. The “growers” are incarcerated men who volunteer time to work the garden, fulfilling various tasks to ensure they plant the best combination of crops and obtain the highest yield. They begin planning the next year’s garden as soon as the growing season ends so they can obtain the seeds and other supplies needed. Patrick Gareau, president and CEO, Catholic Charities, Diocese of Cleveland, credited Boyert’s Greenhouse and Farm in Medina for donating plants and seeds for the Grafton garden the past two years.
The garden started in 2021 as a 2,500-square-foot plot tended by four or five people that yielded about 1,800 pounds of vegetables. Sister Rita Mary Harwood, SND, who at the time led the diocesan Office of Parish Life and Development (she has since retired), would drive to the prison weekly, fill her car with the produce and bring it back to Cleveland where it was distributed at the Bishop Cosgrove Center and other Catholic Charities sites, including the St. Elizabeth Center in Lorain. Some of the produce also was used in preparing meals served at the Bishop Cosgrove Center.
Each year, the garden increased in size, as did the variety of produce grown. In 2022, the yield more than tripled to about 9,000 pounds of produce from a garden that now measures about 1¼ acres and has about two dozen volunteers overseeing it.
“I wasn’t able to fit it in my car,” Sister Harwood said, reflecting on the amount of produce, so she had to find a truck to make the pick-ups and deliveries. Fortunately, some regular volunteers with a truck stepped up to help. She said those who received the fresh produce were always grateful.
This year, the large garden – which can be seen as visitors walk to the prison’s main entrance – produced 16,573.61 pounds of produce. The inventory included 1,937 zucchini; 2,579 squash; 1,725 cucumbers; 3,034 onions; 847.23 pounds of green beans; 7,718 large tomatoes; 53,986 small tomatoes; 850 eggplants; 213 cabbages; 452 carrots; 364.28 pounds of potatoes; 2,224 bell peppers; 29 watermelons; 283 strawberries; 2,726 radishes; 24.3 pounds of lettuce; 13 honeydew melons and 19.74 pounds of spinach, as well as a variety of herbs such as parsley, cilantro, chives, basil, rosemary, thyme, peppermint, oregano, sage and spearmint. She estimated if the produce was sold at a market, it would have been worth about $50,000.
The garden has a minimal carbon footprint and uses no chemicals or pesticides.
Those who received the fresh produce expressed their gratitude, with some recording short thank-you videos that were shown after the dinner. Many of the produce recipients were surprised to learn that the crops were grown by the men at Grafton.
In addition to the growers, the prison’s tackers – or sewers – also were honored for their countless contributions to Catholic Charities and the community.
As the pandemic loomed in 2020, Sister Harwood connected with the administration at Grafton to see how the prison could help with needs in the diocese. Grafton has a “tacking shop” where the incarcerated men sew items for the community.
Sister Harwood contacted Gareau to assess the pandemic-related needs of the Catholic Charities’ ministries. Making face masks for children in schools throughout the diocese and for those who use Catholic Charities’ ministries was a priority.
Using donated fabric, the men got to work and produced about 49,000 face masks that were sanitized and sorted before being distributed to schools, nursing homes and other ministries. The tackers/sewers volunteered much of their time to the project.
Some recipients, including schoolchildren, wrote thank-you notes addressed to the “Gentlemen of Grafton.”
As the need for face masks waned, the men shifted to other projects such as hats, baby swaddlers, blankets, wheelchair and walker bags, clothing cover-ups for nursing home residents, laundry bags, toiletry bags, cell phone bags, fidget blankets, scarves, hats, mittens and even some curtains. A few of the men also knit and crochet and some have made rosaries. Some of their work has found its way to the border of the United States and Mexico, where the items assist refugees and immigrants.
A sampling of their work was displayed on tables in the back of the chapel, where the dinner took place.
Sister Harwood was humbled when some of the tackers presented her with a beautiful quilt they made as a thank-you to her for her support of their efforts.
“This is a wonderful evening for all of us. It truly is a gift, she said, after receiving the quilt. “You’ve touched the lives of many with the message that the men of Grafton care about you,” she added.
The sewers and growers from Grafton also were honored by Catholic Charities’ Catholic Action Commission of Lorain County for their efforts.
“You all volunteer your time to help those who might have gone hungry,” Gareau told the growers. To the tackers/sewers, he said, “You’ve given so much to so many who can see the face of Jesus in you. Thank you.”
Some of the men also had an opportunity to express their thoughts.
Chris, a tacker representative, said he’s worked in the shop for 25 years and is impressed that their creations have now reached as far as the border where they are helping so many in need.
“It was great to see some of the people in the videos using the things we made and the little girl at the border with one of the hand puppets,” Chris added.
Some of the tackers said the work is helping them to turn their lives around as they give back to others.
“We’re like a family here,” said Rick, one of the gardeners. He credited Deputy Warden Stephen Reynolds with supporting the projects.
“At the start of the season, I reflect on what we should do and the Lord shows me how to do it. We have to be patient. We want to be good human beings,” Rick said, noting his fellow growers have taught him a lot.
But the Gentlemen of Grafton aren’t content to rest on their laurels. As they prepare the garden for its winter hiatus, applying mulch and turning over the soil, they are thinking about 2024.
“We’d like to have a goal of 20,000 pounds of produce,” Rick said. “And we’re interested in exploring the addition of bee hives.”