Work and Job Assignments at Roanoke River Correctional: Farm, Cannery, Trades, and Facility Roles

Roanoke River's work programs run through Correction Enterprises, especially on the agricultural side. The facility manages about 5,500 acres of farmland - so there's a lot of daily work happening. The farm and cannery are connected: crops grown on-site get processed in the prison's cannery, then distributed to kitchens across the state prison system.

The cannery is a serious operation. At 12,770 square feet, it can process around 500,000 gallons of food per year. When your loved one mentions "the cannery," that's the scale they're dealing with - and it's why assignments there tend to be steady, structured work.

Farm crews handle a lot of the daily work. They cultivate 300 acres of produce - sweet corn, collard greens, sweet potatoes, squash, cucumbers, and melons. Day-to-day, that means planting, tending fields, harvesting, and moving crops into the broader food supply chain for the state prison system.

• ✓ Maintenance duties
• ✓ Janitorial duties
• ✓ Labor contracts and manual labor jobs for local governments
• ✓ Food service roles
• ✓ Barbering roles
• ✓ Grass cutting roles
• ✓ Recreation clerk roles

Work assignments sometimes shift due to statewide safety decisions. In 2017–2018, the Department of Public Safety suspended more than 250 offenders with assaultive convictions from Correction Enterprises jobs involving cutting or impact tools while completing risk assessments. If your loved one got moved off a tool-involved assignment around that time, this policy change may have been the reason.

1. Ask your loved one what they’re assigned to - “Farm,” “cannery,” “maintenance,” and “food service” are the kinds of broad labels people use, and even that can help you understand their routine.
2. Use the facility’s official channels for confirmation - job assignments can change, and staff are the best source for what’s current and what’s allowed to be shared.
3. Be specific with your question - ask whether they’re currently assigned to a work area (like farm crews or the cannery) or to an inside role (like maintenance/janitorial or food service), and whether the assignment recently changed.
4. If the question is about tool-involved work eligibility, ask about policy - statewide safety rules can affect who can be placed in certain Correction Enterprises stations, so it’s reasonable to ask whether a policy restriction is the reason for a change.