Prison Food: What Are America's Inmates Eating? - Yahoo

Find Out Where Your Tax Dollars Go

Apr 9, 2009

Have you ever wondered what the average inmate incarcerated within the American prison system eats? What exactly are your tax dollars providing for our country's killers, robbers, and rapists at chow time? If you've ever wondered these things, keep reading. Some things you learn may surprise you!

I worked as a food service supervisor at a complex within the AZ State Prison system, and I will now share some of what I observed and learned while working in that capacity. While prison fare varies across the country, the following is probably a fair representation of what many prisoners are eating daily throughout the country. Some prisoners may eat better than what I describe, and still others throughout the nation may simply receive a nice helping of Nutraloaf at every meal.

Throughout Arizona, at each of the 16 prison complexes maintained by the state, a standard six-week menu applies. This rotating menu lists every breakfast, lunch and dinner that the state provides for six weeks at a time, and inmates can view this menu posted in their housing units, or may request or obtain a copy of their own.

Inmates can become very combative if the correct items are not presented at meal time, as food is a very important commodity in prison. If the menu states there should be a half cup of broccoli on each tray, then each tray going out that chow window had better have a half cup of broccoli on it. Additionally, the food had better be prepared properly. It has taken less than a burnt pizza or undercooked beans to set off a disturbance, and inmates who prepare and serve "bad" food will be held personally responsible when they arrive back at their housing unit, or on the rec field the next day.

Each meal item has a recipe to attempt to ensure uniform cooking throughout all facilities, and the menu and recipes provide for fully balanced nutrition according to the state of Arizona. The standards of nutrition for Adult Male, Adult Female, Juvenile Male and Juvenile Female are all different, and so a separate menu is provided for each group of inmates. The items are no different, however, the portions are adjusted to maintain the desired caloric and nutritional intake to satisfy state requirements.

Typical meal items include three to four ounces of meat, a half cup serving of vegetables, three-quarters of a cup of starch, three-quarters of a cup of salad with dressing, a bread item, a beverage and a dessert. A typical evening's fare may consist of a portion of baked, breaded chicken breast, rice pilaf, carrots, a salad, a dinner roll with butter, Iced tea, and pudding or gelatin. Not too shabby, right?

Holiday menus are even more impressive. For example, the Fourth of July meal consists of both hot dogs and hamburgers, corn on the cob, watermelon and apple pie! Conversely, some meals are quite drab, and when prepared even just a little bit off, are barely palatable. The quality of the prison food will always vary, based on the quality of the ingredients and the skill level of the inmates preparing the food. Occasionally, I observed unscrupulous food service managers and supervisors allow (or even instruct) inmates to proceed with sub-par ingredients or finished product. This is less a reflection on the system as a whole, and more on those individuals shirking their duties. However, from my experience, most of the food provided is more than adequate.

Though the inmates do most of the work, and the correctional officers are there to maintain order, it is civilian contractors who are often responsible for every aspect of the meal preparation: inmate training, adherence to recipes, ensuring food safety standards are met, theft prevention, portion control and general quality of service. Portion control is of utmost importance when preparing food for 800 inmates, as whatever is in the freezer is likely all there is.

Inmates and supervisors will stand shoulder-to-shoulder, weighing and bagging chicken portions at the correct weight to ensure there are enough servings. Entire pans of marinara sauce will be counted before serving, ladle by lade if necessary, to verify the correct amount is available. As previously stated, if the food isn't there, or isn't right, there is the potential for major problems.

Another important reason to practice portion control is to ensure the inmates know the correct serving size for each item. Inconsistent portion sizes can lead to brawls in the chow hall if an inmate looks over to find a double-helping on another guy's tray, especially if the inmates in question are of two different races.

Inmates requiring a special diet for either religious or medical reasons are accommodated through the use of dietary substitutions. For example, inmates claiming Jewish religion are eligible for the Kosher diet. Inmates who aren't Jewish may want access to these trays because they often contain such luxury items as real cheese, a whole tomato, and better entrees. Inmates on a full liquid diet may be recovering from a busted jaw or oral surgery, and will be provided little more than broth, gelatin and "resources" until such time as they are placed back on a regular diet.

A "resource" is a common name for the instant-breakfast packets that are doled out to a few inmates who may need a boost in calories, or who cannot ingest solid food. These packets are given with milk to those determined by medical to need them. Resources and milk are very hot commodities, as both pack a protein boost difficult to attain through other prison foods. Those who work out a lot, and who strive to get bigger while incarcerated, will pay several dollars a pop to get their hands on these items, and those getting them for their medical diets will often go without and stockpile them, selling them later at pure profit.

For most inmates, milk is something they only see at the breakfast meal. Inmates working in the kitchen, however, often have access to as much milk as they want, and all sorts of other goodies to boot. Inmates will regularly steal from the kitchen's inventory to bring food back to cook for their cell-mate or friends at the housing units. Inmates also take liberties in the kitchens, concocting and cooking "special" meals, with or without the approval of prison staff.

If the stash an inmate tries to bring home gets busted, there is always inmate commissary, or "store". Inmates who are allowed to buy store will fill out a list of items they want to order, using money from their inmate banking account to make their purchases. Available are chocolate bars, beef jerky, squeeze cheese (popular for making burritos), bagels, bread, coffee, snack cakes, roast beef, and many other items. Inmates who regularly cook at the house (their cell or dorm) may have a "stinger", an improvised heating device used to boil water which is usually considered contraband.

After all is said and done, most inmates that I observed in the AZ State Prison system were not going hungry, nor were they being served dog chow. They were provided at least the minimum daily nutritional requirement, and some meal items were even, dare I say, good. However, this standard surely can not apply in the same way to an inmate who weighs 100 lbs as to one who weighs 300 lbs, and there lies any disconnect in the prison food system.

Some inmates are not properly accommodated, and the system often ignores such discrepancies since the majority are well served. In general, however, inmates are provided with food suited to their condition. They are not on vacation, or dining out at a family restaurant. Inmates are typically served food not unlike what I was fed at school as a child. When you commit a crime, you voluntarily give up the right to pick and choose. Much like a child, you must sometimes make do with what others have provided for you. If you don't like it, try your best not to get locked up; once you do, you're at the mercy of state to choose your food, and other inmates to handle and prepare it. And the things I could tell you about preparation...

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