Volusia County Inmate Farming Program Set to Launch

The Volusia County Council on Thursday greenlit a program which they hope will simultaneously lower the cost of housing inmates and help prepare them for a second chance upon release. An inmate farming program is slated to launch in early 2026. The first phase of the program will expand the existing gardening program in the Volusia County Division of Corrections. Inmates will have the chance to grow crops such as lettuce, cabbage, potatoes, carrots, cucumbers, bell peppers, and onions, the county says. Those foods were chosen in part because of their frequent usage in inmate meals, leading to the first potential benefit of the program: taxpayer savings via lower food costs. Estimates indicate that the costs associated with housing each inmate costs upward of $100 a day out of taxpayer funds. The food grown in a farming program could bring this number down, advocates say. The second phase of the project is said to include the potential introduction of chickens. This, on top of other skills relating to fresh food production and agriculture-related skills would be introduced some time next year. Also among potential benefits is the opportunities the farming experience could provide inmates once they’re back in the world. “[T]he outdoor activity and skills-based learning can support mental health well-being and help prepare inmates for reentry into the community, further decreasing the likelihood of recidivism,” the Volusia County government said in a news release. Some groups, such as the National Career Development Association (NCDA), point to direct correlations between ex-inmates finding employment and decreases in poverty rates, income tax yield, and family stability. “Lack of employability skills is a major issue for many individuals released from the prison system due to a lack of educational attainment,” said the NCDA’s Kelly Parker in 2022. “Research has shown that many individuals leaving the prison system are more motivated to return to ‘careers’ such as drug-dealing and shop-lifting because these illegal activities provide them with desirable outcomes including self-efficacy, a better than average income, and support from their peer group.” In contrast, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics states farming, ranching, and similar careers had a median pay of $42.30 an hour ($87,980 per year) in 2024. Entrants into the field often need little more than a high school diploma to enter a workforce of over 800,000 individuals in the United States alone. Still, the same data cites a projected decline of one percent in the farming and agricultural field by 2034.