A food safety program that provides job-related training to inmates working in prison kitchens in Coweta and Carroll counties has earned statewide recognition. Coweta County Cooperative Extension family and consumer sciences agent Olivia Handley and Carroll County family and consumer sciences agent Victoria Presnal received second place in the Georgia Extension Association of Family and Consumer Sciences for their work in food safety. The award recognized an ongoing program through which Handley and Presnal teach ServSafe Food Handler training to inmates working in state prison kitchens in Coweta and Carroll counties. ServSafe training covers food-handling practices intended to reduce the risk of foodborne illness while providing participants with skills that can also be used in food service jobs after their release. The program was previously highlighted in The Newnan Times-Herald’s coverage of the Coweta County Prison kitchen. In a July 2024 story, prison officials described the kitchen operation as both a working kitchen and an opportunity for inmates to develop skills that could help them after serving their sentences. At the time, the kitchen employed 26 inmates, including eight who had earned ServSafe certification while at the prison. The kitchen prepares meals for the prison while also providing food for community programs and events. Prison staff said inmates working there were expected to apply and interview for positions, with the work treated as a job rather than…
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