Spring 2021 Carceral Studies Consortium micro-grant recipients, Sharee Asberry and Bailey Hoffner, have begun the process of developing food sovereignty through gardening for the women of Mabel Bassett Correctional Center. MBCC, located in McLoud, Oklahoma, is a medium security facility where over 1200 people are incarcerated. Read on for an update and statement on the recent progress of their project (Feb. 2022), as well as a poem by Asberry.
We, being a part of a community of women, saw a need due to the lack of nutrition in our diets. Since the ending of COCF (private prison), there has been a depravity of decent meals. Every day the private prison provided a salad bar until the state took over in 2003. Because of over processed food and the lack of proper nutrition with living enzymes and good vitamin sources, there has been a high escalation within the time limit of diseases among the community such as: heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer, gall stones, thyroids, etc. Higher per capita than any other community. Therefore, this garden empowers us to have some control over what we eat and provides food sovereignty.
Also, filling in the gap for the lack of programs that anybody can do, we created this program for everyone, regardless of your background. This is also to encourage these women to be a part of something that they may not have experienced, and/or former life may not have exposed them to. It promotes peace, mental, emotional and physical stability. This program offers rehabilitation due to the lack of subculture; instead of being a part of the problem, we promote being a part of the solution. This destroys the myth that we as women are unable to work together for the good of all. We are facilitating a sisterhood beyond personality towards a common goal, as we change how we are viewed amongst ourselves and how we are viewed by staff as a whole.
It wasn’t until the change of administration that this could have been something to even hope for. And for that, we are appreciative and forever grateful.
Thank you for all of your support and considering the health of the women here at MBCC.
–The Women of the People’s Garden
The People’s Garden…
Ax to the clay, gravel, give way!
Sweat, out of breath, vision arrayed.
She labored, struggled, labored shoveled,
labored, hustled, until her knees buckled.
Though broken down now like the ground,
her tormentors look on…
In hopes of defeating the very purpose of its meaning,
in perseverance she rocks on…
The protection of the dirt on her feet draws the very healing,
of her and the worth of every woman she’s representing…
In this place
we made a space
for every face they have disgraced.
Daughter, Sister
Young, Old
Mother, Grandmother
Broken, Bold
In the pulling of the earth
travailed the process of the birth
that excelled… The Peoples Garden.
Sharee Asberry.
Excerpted from the project proposal submitted to the OU Carceral Studies Consortium in Spring 2021 by Sharee Asberry and Bailey Hoffner, prior to the start of the project.
This project has arisen thanks to the work of Sharee Asberry, who is currently incarcerated at Mabel Bassett Correctional Center (MBCC), in drawing up a proposal to present to the warden for access to gardening space. Major needs for the project are tools, seeds, and access to resources to aid the women at MBCC in this work.
This represents a short-term goal to pilot a gardening program at MBCC, in turn providing space for daily joy and healing to these women, ensuring their continued ability to participate in the longer struggle. A successful pilot will lay the groundwork for eventually justifying a legislative mandate, ensuring access to gardening space and supplies for all those incarcerated in Oklahoma. Success will also mean we have provided the tools, seeds, and resources necessary for at least one garden plot at MBCC this year, and that we walk away with lessons learned and next steps for moving towards broadening the program.
For more information on The People’s Garden, follow @thepeoplesgarden_mbcc on Instagram and reach out to thepeoplesgarden.mbcc@gmail.com for information on volunteer opportunities.
Editor’s Note: The OU Carceral Studies Consortium is led by its core board members, including Angela Person (acting chair, Architecture), Connie Chapple (incoming director, Sociology), Nancy Snow (Philosophy), Stephanie Pilat (Architecture), and Marjorie Callahan (Architecture), with support from Matt Bejar (graduate fellow, Sociology).
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