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RIVERTON — Children with disabilities at the Kauri Sue Hamilton School received pumpkins from prison inmates on Monday.
More than 3,500 pumpkins harvested, gathered, and some even intricately decorate, by Utah State Prison inmates are being donated to various organizations that serve children in the community.
The inmates in the Utah State Prison's greenhouse program harvest the pumpkins annually from early June to mid-October, largely using pumpkin seeds donated by Mountain Valley Seeds.
Using paint left over from other projects some prisoners painted haunting scenes for Halloween. Similar painted pumpkins had been auctioned off and the proceeds donated to the Kauri Sue Hamilton school.
In addition to giving the inmates the opportunity to put a smile on a child's face and perhaps pay back some of their debt to society, one inmate even hoped to use the skills he earned growing the pumpkins to get a job at a nursery upon his release.
The inmates also grow poinsettias to deliver to children and the Capitol Building during the holiday season.
