Ep 100. Today's episode was recorded and filmed onsite at Grafton on a beautiful Fall sunny day in their garden. I wanted this to be my 100th episode so I waited until a snowy winter day to share. During my visit, I talked with inmates and leaders at the Grafton Correctional Institute, where Hope is provided daily. In 2024, the garden grew and distributed 23,000 pounds of produce.

This 100th Episode will be in two parts. Part One will be with two of the inmates. For those watching on YouTube, they were not allowed to be filmed. Their closing message, in their own words were "encourage everybody to get out there and give gardening a try. Don't be afraid to mess anything up. Put it in the ground. God will give you everything that you need when it comes to the land. You've just gotta work it."

#eatbetterfoodtoday #localingredients #longevity #health #foodasmedicine #localfarmers #hope #garden

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Look for information on Grafton at https://drc.ohio.gov/about/facilities/grafton-correctional

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What's In Season https://www.seasonalfoodguide.org/

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Segment Notes:

Intro

Why Garden?

• Something that I've always done with my great grandmother and grandfather
• A Way to Give Back
• All of our harvest goes to three or four different homeless shelters plus a local restaurant
• Feed People who can't Feed Themselves
• In the Garden get Peace, Solitude in a 1200 person facility

What is Grown

• In 2 acres, with 32 inmates, they grow watermelon, cantaloupes, honeydews, tomatoes, okra, eggplants, cabbage, lettuce, greens, peppers, squash, zucchini, pumpkins, carrots, beets, radish, lettuce.
• Everything is Organically grown
• Begin with by Mapping it out. Need to rotate our crops every year due to insects getting used to a certain plant being there or tomatoes with too much acidity so they need to be moved around.
• Beehives produce honey and pollinate the crops being grown
• 23,000lbs of Produce Grown and Distributed last Year
• One Family Dinner and One Inmate only Dinner with some of the Harvest

Plans, Challenges, Stories

• Plan to Bring Back Greenhouses and Continue to Support Sister Rita
• Biggest Challenge: The Weather – Dealing with Extremes of Hot, Cold
• Story: Our family sees how much we enjoy this and it makes them want to start growing things. There's a guy, his girl lives in Amsterdam. She's been able to take seeds from this garden and she's got her own little garden in Amsterdam.
• Why not turn Abandoned Buildings into Gardens – free Food

If Someone at Home Wanted to Start a Garden

• Buy a Vegetable, Dry and then Plant the Seeds
• Seed Packets are only a Dollar
• Local Libraries have Free Seeds
• Encourage everybody to get out there and give it a try. Don't be afraid to mess anything up. Put it in the ground. God will give you everything that you need when it comes to the land. You just gotta work it.
• The Sante Foundation, to raise money, bring awareness, and build Centers to bring healthy food and services into underserved urban neighborhoods. In the world we live in today, we all need to do more to support one another and bring Hope into other people's lives.

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This Podcast is a production of Sante Strategies, LLC. Sante translated is - Health Means Everything.

This is the company I have started to begin this health and longevity journey, focused on food.

Disclaimer: We are sharing our experiences on this Podcast. Please be sure to consult a medical professional.