Hayes says other inmates often attribute their lack of visitors to the cost of bus tickets; he helps Sabur organize on the “inside,” spreading the word about his van trips and CSA packages. Sabur’s rates are as modest as he can afford and are the best deal in town: $25 per passenger and $90 for a family of five. A larger company, Prison Gap Buses, charges between $50 and $80 per adult passenger depending on the prison, and $20 to $40 per child under 10. Of course, a ride with Sabur also includes a CSA package. And because the ticket price technically includes the package of food, passengers can pay with their EBT cards, commonly known as food stamps.

Hayes suffers from diabetes, which he developed in prison and which the diet there exacerbates. “A person of my age and with my afflictions,” he said, shaking his head, “and all we eat is white rice, white pasta. The problem with the state is that it’s one diet fits all — they just worry about calorie count.”

The van line and CSA delivery service is part of his larger project to support incarcerated people, their families and small farms in rural New York.

Sabur works with the Freedom Food Alliance, which he played a key role in creating. The alliance includes local farmers, advocacy and activist organizations such as the Bard Food Initiative, the WESPAC Food Justice Committee and a network of prisoners, families and young people affected by the justice system.

This is the first year that he has a budget, largely due to funding from the White Plains–based WESPAC Food Justice Committee. This is also the first year that he isn’t farming himself, instead working as an organizer full-time. About 15 small farms in the Hudson Valley contribute to the Victory Project in some way, most commonly by donating food. Sabur is taken aback by how supportive farmers in the area have been.