by
David Thompson
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published
Jun 18, 2025
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last modified
Jun 18, 2025 07:24 AM
A recent feasibility study showed that Norton Correctional Facility (NCF) is the largest producer of fresh produce in that region, so, health officials came up with a plan to utilize NCF’s assets. With the guidance of business consultants specializing in food system planning and sustainable food business development, NCF wrote for and was awarded a federal food grant, and today, they are spearheading a charge to upgrade and convert our gardens into local food hubs that would not only provide fresh produce for residents and staff at each facility, but also enough to share with surrounding communities, especially hospitals, nursing homes, and schools.
NCF is piloting this project using the food grant to help build a processing plant adjacent to its garden. The plan is to have the plant under the workings of the Kansas Corrections Industries and Rich O’Donnell, who also happens to have experience at the federal prison in Leavenworth converting gardens into food hubs. So, how the NCF project goes, so goes other facility gardens.
by
David Thompson
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published
Feb 12, 2026
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last modified
Feb 12, 2026 09:09 AM
Former Lansing Correctional Facility Resident, Aaron Smallwood, cites education and his faith as keys to his path toward redemption. He was released September 6, 2024 after serving 28 years in KDOC custody. During his incarceration, he earned a college degree from Donnelly College and became a mainstay with the Brothers In Blue Reentry program. Since his release, he has a fulltime job at Zephyr Products, a Private Industry partner with KDOC. Smallwood was invited to speak at the University of Kansas School of Education & Human Sciences Black History Month Celebration. He has written two books and told an audience of mostly KU Education students, faculty, and other supporters, that successful reentry is a slow process.
