Annual inmate plant sale gets underway in Eagle River

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - It’s a plant sale some people wait for all year, and apparently don’t mind getting up early to be the first in line.

That’s what happened Tuesday morning, the first day of the Hiland Mountain Correctional Center Plant Sale in Eagle River.

“Our community members actually started showing up at 7 a.m.,” said DOC Staff Sgt. Leighann Pass, who oversees the sale. “They line up, they bring their own camp chairs, they actually bring trailers; last year we had a U-Haul.”

No one is exactly sure how long the popular sale has been going on, but the general consensus is more than 30 years. The female inmates grow all the plants, mostly from seed, in the Hiland greenhouse starting in January.

Pass said participation in the program is considered a privilege.

“They need to be motivated, and they need to be trustworthy within the facility,” Pass explained. “It’s a full-time job for them, so they are in the greenhouse growing and caring for everything, whether it’s the plants, the veggies, all of that, they do it themselves.”

Pass said the program can provide valuable skills for women after they leave the facility. It’s also a more positive way for them to spend their time while they are there.

Proceeds from the plant sale are funneled back into the prison horticulture program, which Ross said were used to build a new greenhouse this year.

The plant sale, located at 9101 Hesterberg Road in Eagle River, runs May 20-23 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. or, until they run out of plants, which Pass said was likely this year. The sale accepts only cash or checks.

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