A major supermarket chain has launched Britain’s first ‘in-prison’ branch to help inmates adjust to the outside world upon their release.

Food retailer Iceland last month opened a store at HMP Oakwood in Featherstone, Staffordshire – the largest prison in England.  

The branch gives prisoners the chance to use Monopoly-style money to stock up on groceries, including branded products like Chicago Town pizzas and Ben & Jerry’s ice cream that are unavailable on the prison wings, The Times reported

The supermarket is the first of its kind in the UK and is part of a new ‘marketplace’ constructed within a huge warehouse inside the jail, fashioned to look like a shopping centre.

Alongside Iceland, the marketplace also features a coffee shop called Hopeful Grounds with inmate baristas, a fruit and veg stand and a leisure store called ‘JP sports’. 

Inmates can earn currency to spend at the store up to a maximum of £25 per week as a reward for good behaviour at the Category C prison – though prices are cheaper than in Iceland’s high street stores. 

The store also offers employment to some prisoners as they near the end of their sentences, to help ease their route back into the world of work following their release. 

HMP Oakwood, one of 15 privately run jails in England and Wales, is run by the private security firm G4S. 

Food retailer Iceland last month opened a store at HMP Oakwood in Featherstone, Staffordshire – the largest prison in England 

The store also offers employment to some prisoners as they near the end of their sentences, to help ease their route back into the world of work following their release. Pictured: shoppers inside an Iceland in Ipswich UK (not the in-prison store)

Inmates can earn Monopoly-style money for good behaviour, which they can use to buy goods including Ben & Jerry’s ice cream

Charlie Taylor, HM Chief Inspector of Prisons, rated the scheme as ‘unusually effective’ – and last year named HMP Oakwood the number one prison in England.

Mr Taylor commended the prison for its strong leadership, high expectations placed on inmates, and ‘a culture of prisoner-led initiatives’ and calling it ‘the best prison I have seen in my time as Chief Inspector’.

That represents a major turnaround for HMP Oakwood, which a decade ago was dubbed ‘Jokewood’ by prisoners. 

The penitentiary was harshly criticised by prisons inspectors in 2013 due to soaring levels of violence and the ease with which inmates were able to obtain drugs. 

Ellen Herickx, Iceland’s employment lead manager, who previously worked at HMP Stocken in Rutland, told The Times: ‘A lot of prisoners, when they come into prison, think, “Who’s going to employ me? I’m in prison.” 

‘”That’s it, that’s the end of my life because nobody will take me on.” So when they get that opportunity, that second chance, they grasp it with both hands,’ she said.

‘They’re less likely to reoffend, they’re less likely to mess up because they’ve got structure, routine, stability, so straight away they’re on the right path. And they’re grateful because they didn’t expect another chance.’

The marketplace was the brainchild of HMP Oakwood’s head of employability Carly Balis, who helps identify inmates suitable for a role at the in-prison Iceland branch. 

Other brand available for inmates to buy in Iceland including items like Chicago Town pizzas which are unavailable in the prison wings

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She passes on their details to Paul Cowley MBE, Iceland’s director of rehabilitation since 2022, who has spearheaded the supermarket giant’s Second Chance scheme. 

According to The Times, Mr Cowley served a short prison sentence as a teenager for petty crime, before serving in the Armed Forces and then joining the priesthood. 

Under his leadership, Iceland has been helping ex-offenders across the UK get back into the workforce.

In total Iceland employs approximately 350 former inmates, while an additional 300 have job offers ahead of their release. 

Mr Cowley carries out interviews with all potential inmates employees before allocating successful candidates a role either in-store or as a delivery driver.  

Sean Oliver, HMP Oakwood’s governor, said the scheme helped some inmates on lengthy sentences reacquaint themselves with using money and let them ‘feel and see what normality is like’. 

Workers at the store regularly school prisoners on the basics of a supermarket shop, including things like where to place their baskets and how to go about paying. 

Prison reformers also say that giving inmates jobs helps them invest in their future and stops them reoffending.