Chefs-in-training are prepping for another shift in one of the state's busiest kitchens.
"I'm not training these guys to work at McDonald's, I'm training them to work in fine dining establishments throughout the state," Chris Cosgrove said.
Cosgrove is a former history teacher who found a new calling. He heads Vermont's only culinary certification program for inmates called ProStart. Southern State Correctional Facility launched the hands-on program a little over a year ago. It's part of Community High School of Vermont. After 400 hours in the kitchen, the inmates graduate with marketable job skills that will help them on the outside.
"There aren't a lot of programs, but this is one that you can actually take back to the streets and be a part of society... and not a menace to it," Gary Merrill said.
Merrill is serving time for domestic assault. He was one of the program's first graduates. Now he spends 60 to 80 hours a week here creating cuisine for his fellow inmates.
"You used to say we need to make 1,200 meatballs and you'd think it was the biggest chore in the world. Now it ain't nothing. We bang it out in an hour," Merrill said.
"People are getting out. They're living in our communities and I would much rather have an inmate, upon release, that has something to show for it... other than I spent a year or two in Southern and got three hots and a cot," Cosgrove said.
Prison food isn't known for being particularly appetizing. But Cosgrove's focus on farm-to-table teaches these students about nutrition and the cost-effectiveness of cooking with homegrown ingredients. The program challenges the men to master upscale, technical cuisine, as well as baking.
"It's soothing to bake and know that you can create something that someone else is going to eat, like and appreciate," said Tyler Orvis, an inmate who is in the culinary program.
In addition to culinary skills, these inmates learn life lessons about perseverance, work ethic and self-confidence. But cooking inside a prison isn't without its challenges.
"Everything I bring into the facility could be used as a weapon," Cosgrove said. "We have security protocols and things like that, so there's not just knives flying around the place."
Security is tight and a guard is never more than a few steps away. Despite the security risks, prison officials support the program and believe it's helping to contain the cost of incarceration.
"It's a very significant cost savings and I think the taxpayers of Vermont would be happy to know that these guys aren't just sitting in their cells watching TV, they're actually producing," Cosgrove said.
This program has been so successful that the superintendent hopes to eventually takes this model and move it to other prisons throughout the state.
Every inmate who doesn't come back saves the state about $60,000 a year.
Vermont is the first state in the country to incorporate a curriculum like this into its corrections programming.
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