Plymouth County Correctional Facility Auquaponics Farm (pccf)

Think of prison, and words like “Justice” and “Security” might come to mind. But Karen Barry, Director of External Affairs for the Plymouth County Sheriff’s Office and brainchild behind a new hydroponics and aquaponics facility, wants you to think differently, of Environmental Justice and Food Security.

Located within the much larger 90-acre Plymouth County Farm and completed in late 2023, the roughly 1,500 square-foot greenhouse features both an aquaponics line and two hydroponics lines. Aquaponics, or recirculating aquaculture, is a form of agriculture that combines raising fish—in this case tilapia—in tanks while using the nutrient-rich water (containing some of the fish poop) to provide a natural fertilizer for the plants—in this case, hundreds of heads of lettuce. The plants, in turn, help to purify the water, which is recirculated back to the fish tank. Hydroponics, on the other hand, uses a water-based nutrient solution, not necessarily generated from fish, to grow the plants in a soilless media, such as vermiculite, perlite, or other substrates. Tomatoes and other greens are grown hydroponically at this facility.

Karen is quick to give credit to others. “This would not have happened without Sheriff[Joseph] McDonald” and “the [roughly $20,000] grant from MDAR [Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources] really helped us a lot.” She also credits the great staff at the facility’s Environmental Justice Center. It’s clear, though, that Karen is the driving force behind the effort. “We took a ride out to see the facility in Berkshire County and I thought, we can do this in Plymouth,” Karen says.

So, she set to work securing funding, garnering support, and pulling together a team. “We worked with 100 Gardens out of North Carolina, and they were great, providing the technical support we needed.” 100 Gardens is a nonprofit that designs, educates, and consults with clients on how to set up and operate aquaponics facilities. Karen also worked with Christine Becker, a food consultant and food security advocate with Food Scribe Consulting, who helped with a strategy for the grant applications.

But some of the biggest help came from places she might not have expected. “We had this empty greenhouse and then all these boxes of equipment showed up and I turned to 100 Gardens and asked if they had any specific design plans for how to put the facility together. Nope. And I thought, oh no, what have I done?” 100 Gardens concentrates its efforts on providing technical support around nutrient balance and crop and fish management. And 100 Gardens likes to leave a lot of these layout decisions to the individual clients.

Enter a man, Marc [pseudonym], one of the inmates. He was very mechanical, a master carpenter, and assembled a team who soon took ownership. “I’d come in and Marc would be sitting with a bunch of guys trying to figure out how high this piece or that piece needed to be to get water to flow right. They really took pride in the project. It was amazing.”

The facility was originally conceived with a focus on food production. But Karen and 100 Gardens quickly realized that as large as 1,500 square feet sounds, it is not that big, so they pivoted. As Karen explains, “We are really a training facility, where we focus on teaching STEM, food production, and food health.” The facility has hosted high school biology classes and lots of home-school visits so that local kids can understand how the systems work. “But we also want the inmates to be part of learning STEM as well, understanding the pH and nutrient requirements, balancing fish production, making sure the water is flowing at the optimal rate and with enough oxygen to keep fish healthy and active as they grow.”

Karen says there is value in having inmates leave prison with skills that will help them with their transition. Four inmates were a part of the initial rotation and she is in the process of identifying a new group of candidates. When it comes to food production, the program is just getting started, but Karen sees great promise. “This month we’ve provided over 200 heads of aquaponic lettuce to the South Shore Community Action Council,” a group that assists with food security and access for vulnerable individuals and families. “They do a great job with their network, reaching out to local food pantries, Karen says.” As the facility’s system becomes more established Karen hopes to provide produce to other organizations, including a homeless shelter in Brockton.

The whole project is a work in progress. “Aphids got into our first batch of tomatoes,” but the second crop is coming along well. Greens are also thriving in the hydroponic section of the greenhouse. And then there are the tilapia. Karen needed to start the project with fish because they provide nutrients for the plants but “I was really worried a few weeks ago when we did not have a good place for the fish. Then I met a guy who said he would help out and it all came together,” Karen explained. Though it’s still being worked out, the plan will likely involve a local fish market that has agreed to fillet the tilapia, providing the fillets to families with limited food access.

I asked Karen what other obstacles she’s encountered. “Keeping the facility staffed with inmates is a challenge.”  She explains that as a place that interacts with the public, she cannot have violent offenders at this facility. She and the correctional staff also do not want inmates who might attempt an escape. A correctional officer adds, “We want guys [and they are all men at this facility] who are near the end of their sentences, within six months or so, so the incentive to run is reduced.”  Finding people who are interested in working here is not the problem. The challenge is finding people who meet the three requisite characteristics of being nonviolent, having the aptitude, and being within that window of release.

Karen is full of ideas for how she wants the program to grow. The group is developing smaller hydroponic systems that the staff can take with them into the prison so that inmates who might be more of a risk can also learn how to grow food. “I am a big proponent of food-as-medicine, so I want to incorporate herbs into the program,” Karen says. Getting nutritionists to help inmates understand how the food they consume affects their overall health is a goal. “We really want to get the farm’s products into the prison’s culinary arts program, but the certifications are a challenge,” says Karen. Regulations around what food can be served to inmates are highly regulated requiring both state and federal certifications and approvals.

Karen is also looking to expand the facility. She sees the teaching greenhouse as an important piece as it provides valuable training to students and inmates, as well as providing food security to local families—but this is just the start. “I’d like to convert some of these other greenhouses here into grow facilities so that we can produce food twelve months out of the year. That would be awesome,” she exclaims.

A study by the Greater Boston Food Bank estimates that 36% of people in Plymouth County and up to 48% of people in Bristol County are food insecure. Karen Barry and the folks at the Plymouth County Sheriff’s Department are looking to do something about that.

Plymouth County Correctional Facility
26 Long Pond Road
Plymouth, MA 02360
(508) 830-6200
www.PCSDMA.org