One California county is using parts of its jail funding to teach offenders a new trade—how to bake a cake, reports The San Diego Union-Tribune.
The East Mesa Detention Facility in San Diego created an apprenticeship program for culinary arts of bakery.
The project began last January as an outgrowth of the state’s plan, shifting the responsibility for low-level offenders from state officials to county governments.
“A lot of us have lost our sense of responsibility,” said one of the program’s participants Langston Steven, 36, in the Union-Tribune article. “This gives us a sense of worth.”
The Sheriff’s Department said the program is intended to help reduce recidivism. “If we don’t take advantage of this, it’s a wasted opportunity,” said Sheriff Bill Gore, in the article.
“This is the first time I’m learning something (while in custody), said Jimmy Bahn, 35 in the Union-Tribune article. “I have choices, an opportunity to learn, and not come back.”
Instructor, Maria T. Gonzales teaches all of the fundamentals of bakery to a classroom full of students.
“When I came here, I saw them not wanting to work together,” Gonzales said. “We’ve turned it into a team, and that translates on the outside.”
Another instructor, Irene Fombon, teaches them “how to fill pastries with cream or drizzle chocolate over a sweet treat. They make icing and decorate cakes, which get gobbled up by jail staff,” reports the Union-Tribune.
With the average sentence around 18 to 24 months, inmates are able to take advantage of the course, which is about six-months, reports the Union-Tribune.
