A Polk County blueberry farmer is making the best out of a bad season by giving back to his community.
Due to bad weather this year, Bill Braswell of Polkdale Farms had an excess of blueberries that weren't suited for retail, but were fine to for consumption. He teamed up with Polk Count Sheriff Grady Judd to help get more than a thousand pounds of berries picked on Saturday.
- Inmates pick blueberries that aren't fit for retail
- The fruit is being donated to local charities
- Any blueberries that aren't claimed will be used at the county jail
"These inmates have trespassed against society and today they're doing something good," Sheriff Grady Judd said.
About 200 inmates picked berries at the farm on Saturday. They are part of a weekend work program and usually spend their weekends picking up trash to avoid jail time.
"It's a win for the taxpayer, it's a win for the community," said Judd. "They're paying their debt to society without losing their job during the week."
Bucket by bucket, the blueberries were placed on to pallets, loaded on to trucks and shipped off to local charities.
For Braswell, the day was about making the best out of a bad situation.
"It makes you sick to see it just hanging there," said Braswell. "We've got 150,000 pounds that's hanging there and it's just going to drop on the ground. It's not what you want to see. You want to see something good come out of it. We're not going to make any money off it, but that's OK, somebody's going to get some blueberries."
The leftover berries that don’t get picked up by non-profits and charities this weekend will go to the Polk County Jail for inmates to eat.