Somerset County Jail Opens Piggery

This little piggy went to market, this little piggy went to jail? Well, kind of, there is a new program at the Somerset County Jail , where pigs will be raised for food and will offer an path for inmates to work outside and gain a new skill.The idea came from corrections Officer Ryan Moore. He thought that it would provide meat for the jail population as it offered some vocational training and outdoor activities for inmates.

Eight piglets were bought at an Arundel farm for $50 each and they will be fattened up to reach up to 300 pounds and then butchered in the fall. Money to purchase the piglets came from the inmates' benefit fund, money that is spent at the commissary.

Inmates also started a 2-acre garden in 2010 to help supplement the jail's $260,000 food budget. The farm produced 1,500 pounds of potatoes, along with onions, beans and peppers. The farm has grown to over 5-acres.

They hope that the 'pig program' will be as successful as the farm and that it will become a yearly program.