I've long supported that inmates should be required to do most of the work of taking care of themselves AND the community.  I'm all about chain gangs, inmate trash pickup, and general community service being performed by the incarcerated.  To be sure, they do plenty of laundry and cooking while they're in jail, and I'm sure plenty of cleaning, too.  But with as much money as it costs to house, feed, and clothe them, never mind guard them, all being picked up by the state, I think they should be even more productive to mitigate some of those costs.  You know, so the community gets something out of it.

While it's not exactly groundbreaking, a sheriff in Ohio is directing some of his inmates to plant crops in a field about an acre in size for fresh vegetables to help bolster the inmate's menu and cut costs to meet budget.  Even if they didn't manage to eat all the produce, it could be sold at a profit and returned to the prison's budget. 

Hurrah for that sheriff for thinking outside the box.