Fresh corn, mashed potatoes, and squash right out of the garden;It's the closest thing to a home cooked meal inmates at one North Central Florida jail are going to get.

         The Marion County jail feeds two thousand people every day, or rather, taxpayers feed two thousand inmates three times day. In 2001, they put some of those inmates to work building a farm, by hand, without the use of mechanical equipment. They produced so much food in fact, much of it went to waste. Now, thanks to bigger freezers that can store more food longer, that isn't an issue.

Sgt. Randy Yawn says, "We had a problem with spoilage because we had such an abundance that you had to try and use it right away. we lacked the freezer space and it was always a chore to try and use it all before it went bad."

The sheriff's office says that between the inmate run farm and the freezers, food expenses are cut in half. That makes food costs at the Marion County jail lower then at most.

by Sarah Pusateri WCJB TV 20 News