Some birds of a feather have taken up residence this year at the Logan County Jail — from meat chickens to egg-laying hens and now new to the flock, a turkey.
A surplus of money from local Indigent Driver Alcohol Treatment (IDAT) funds has fueled this brand new recovery-related poultry initiative at the jail garden, which has a hatched a multitude of benefits for all involved, from the jail inmates learning important new life skills to extending the bottom line of the jail kitchen’s budget.
Friday, Oct. 10, the Logan County Sheriff’s Office hosted their annual harvest luncheon featuring the bounty from the jail garden, as is tradition for the long-running garden program that’s been in place for more than a decade.
The flavorful cookout fare included chicken that was raised on site by inmate trustees. Alongside grilled hamburgers, hot dogs and brats, the chicken was served up after being smoked and seasoned by Vic Klingelhofer from Vic’s Country Cookin’ to make it a hit for attendees.
Jail Administrator Tim Klingelhofer said the new poultry program resulted from the IDAT funding that was designated for mental health first being funneled from the Bellefontaine Municipal Court to the Recovery Zone of Logan County, who in turn worked with the Logan County Sheriff’s Office and Jail to start the project.
“The Recovery Zone saw first-hand how beneficial the jail garden is to our inmates, and the many mental health and recovery benefits they receive from working in the garden,” Lt. Klingelhofer said. “They learn many new skills that they can take with them when they leave here, and gain a tremendous amount of pride growing their own food in the garden, and seeing others enjoy it as well.
“We thought that would translate into raising chickens, and through this IDAT funding, we were able to make this new program a reality.”
Earlier this year, Municipal Court Judge Jacob Estes got together with Chief Probation Officer Mike Madigan and Dr. Adam Sorensen, Mental Health Drug & Alcohol Services of Logan and Champaign County executive director, to discuss how they could best invest a surplus of IDAT funds.
“We are pleased to say that Recovery Zone has been able to partner with the courts and the jail through peer support services and thinking outside of the box with recovery programming,” Dougie Boggs, Recovery Zone of Logan County incarceration outreach program director, said via the Recovery Zone’s Facebook page.
“As a person with lived experience, I can appreciate the opportunities this program presents and how valuable it is to a person’s mental health and well-being.
“Through understanding that recovery is more than abstaining from use and more about learning to live and love life, getting out and enjoying the sun, getting your hands dirty, and doing something purposeful we have created a space just for that.
“We are able to conduct our one-on-one peer support as well as some groups outside and that really gives a sense of freedom in spite of circumstances or current situations. It gives the people an opportunity to get out and be productive versus sitting in the cell with just themselves and their thoughts.”
In May, the jail got its first its first round of meat chickens, which were raised by the inmate trustees entrusted with their care. Lt. Klingelhofer and Staff Sgt. of Corrections Joe Torsell worked together to make preparations for the chickens, including converting a previous building already on site.
Mobile chicken coops on wheels, also called “chicken tractors” were utilized with the flock, enabling the birds to be moved to different patches of grass behind the jail, located at 284 S. County Road 32, Bellefontaine.
Since then, Lt. Klingelhofer said four rounds of chickens totaling about 400-500 birds have been processed, resulting in approximately 2,000 pounds of chicken for the jail kitchen, a significant boost to the jail’s bottom line.
In addition, there are currently egg-laying hens that are producing about 20 eggs a day, with plans to add more hens, the jail administrator noted.
“It’s been wonderful having the chickens raised on site and now the eggs as well,” jail kitchen supervisor Carmen Loudermilk said. “We enjoy getting to incorporate these fresh foods and the garden produce into our daily meals at the jail.
“We also freeze produce for use throughout the winter.”
In the spring, a new flock of meat chickens will return to the coops. With Thanksgiving right around the corner, now a turkey is occupying one of the outdoor coops.
For the jail garden, the IDAT funds provided for new equipment, including trellises this year.
Tomatoes and peppers have had a plentiful harvest this year, with many more yet to come this month, noted Loudermilk and Lt. Klingelhofer. In addition, the garden’s sweet corn was bountiful was well, and about 250 pounds of frozen corn was prepped for the winter, they said.
Also growing in the garden this year were zucchini, cucumber, squash, onions, potatoes, green beans, watermelon and pumpkin.
Lt. Klingelhofer also expressed appreciation to Caven’s Meats of Fletcher for butchering services for the chickens, along with fellow garden suppliers and supporters Hillside Greenhouse, Tim Hart from A&H Hose, Family Farm & Home, Comptons and Sunrise Meadows.
“This program is not just benefitting one or two inmates, but it’s benefitting our entire facility and our staff,” he said.
