Jailhouse Bread

Not-quite-free enterprise

The 36 food banks that provide free food for the poor in and around Seattle had a shortage of bread last summer. Meanwhile, Seattle's King County jail had a shortage of wholesome prisoner activities. Putting those two ingredients together, unusually enterprising county bureaucrats came up with a neat solution: take a group of idle inmates, provide training and let them bake bread. The result has been a fast-rising success. Since the start- up last month, the bakery has attracted 25 prisoners, who now turn out 430 loaves daily. The bread, which is nearly as hearty as English muffins, proved popular enough for the not-quite-free enterprise to break out into the marketplace.

By last week 500 supermarkets were stocking the newly trademarked Jailhouse Bread, packaged in red-white-and-blue plastic bags featuring a two-story jail with six barred windows. The stores will be supplied by a private bakery, and royalties will be paid to the county for the right to distribute the product based on the jail's recipe. Convict labor is thus not taking any jobs away from community residents, but the inmates stand to gain. As part of its deal with the county, the private bakery has pledged to hire some of the Jailhouse bakers when they get out.

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