HMP Oakwood, the largest prison in England located in Featherstone, Staffordshire, has launched Britain’s first in-prison supermarket. In collaboration with food retailer Iceland, the prison now features a supermarket where inmates can buy branded treats like Ben & Jerry’s ice cream and popular Chicago Town pizzas, which are not available in the regular prison canteen, reported The Times.

What sets this store apart is its currency system. Inmates use Monopoly-style money earned through good behaviour at the Category C prison. The incentive scheme allows them to earn up to 25 pounds (around Rs 2800) per week, reported the Daily Mail. What’s more, prices at this prison branch are lower than those at Iceland’s high-street outlets.

The in-prison supermarket is part of a larger initiative to recreate a shopping centre environment inside a massive warehouse within the jail, dubbed the ‘marketplace’. Alongside Iceland, it features a coffee shop named Hopeful Grounds run by inmate baristas, a fresh produce stall with fruits and veggies, and a leisure store called JP Sports.

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The marketplace is designed to help inmates transition more smoothly into society after release, with some also employed in the store as part of their rehabilitation. The program 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. 

HM Chief Inspector of Prisons, Charlie Taylor, has praised the project as “unusually effective” and last year named HMP Oakwood the number one prison in England. He called it “the best prison I have seen in my time as Chief Inspector.”