What is Prison Food Really Like? A Review of the New, Post-National Menu Prison Fare - Yahoo
Aug 1, 2008
When you hear "prison food", do you think of Dickensian ladles of grey goo, poured onto the trays of zebra-striped inmates? Or do you imagine steak and lobster served al fresco at some tropical Club Fed? The truth, of course, is somewhere in the middle: think Chicken a la King, beef stir-fry, roasted pork with onions and bell peppers, and hamburgers on the grill.
The quality, quantity and availability of meals in the United States' federal prisons has always been wildly variable, but it is a bit less so since the implementation of a national menu. Most prisons have adopted the new menu, which attempts to standardize portion size, choice and nutritive content across the Bureau of Prisons.
Meals are designed to be low-sugar, low-salt, and limit the number of both calories and calories from fat. To accomplish this goal, portions of the meal-typically the entrée, bread, dessert, and more desirable fruits and vegetables-will be portion controlled and handed out under the watchful eye of a staff member. The remaining items---carbs like rice and potatoes, condiments like ketchup and pickles, and salsa, and most vegetables-- will be served buffet-style, with inmates taking as much as they want. Additional choices will always be available under the national menu; a "heart healthy" option (substitution, baked for fried, or prepared with less fat and cholesterol), a "no flesh" option (which may be a soy burger or a cheese sandwich but will have no meat including fish), and the ultimate healthy eating, the confusingly named "common fare", consisting in a tall stock of row vegetables, a bowl of cold vegetarian baked beans and a t.v. dinner style entrée.
In addition to three cafeteria meals a day, which are provided free of charge, another important caloric source is the inmate commissary. At the commissary, inmates can use funds from their personal accounts to purchase cosmetic and hygiene items, over-the-counter medications, recreational clothing and sporting goods, and a wide variety of snack foods and staples. A typical selection might include junk food like candy bars, snack cakes, potato chips, soda, and drink mixes, along with slightly more substantial fare: ramen noodles, instant rice, tortillas, tuna, chicken, summer sausage, and a few seasonings and condiments. Inmates should have access to a microwave in their housing unit; a surprising variety of meals can be devised from these few ingredients.
The most dynamic -- and often most substantial - component of the inmate' s food supply is the black market that thrives, to various extents, at all federal prisons. In theory (and BOP policy), no inmate may give another inmate anything of value, which makes market capitalism difficult. In reality, the black market offers items prepared from commissary ingredients (stir-frys, stuffed burritos, no bake fudge), items smuggled out of the cafeteria or kitchen (raw meat, fresh vegetables, sugar packets, coffee) and, more infrequently, items from outside the compound.
As this requires colluding with a staff member or outsmarting the usually thorough post visitation strip search, it is more often used for cigarettes or controlled substances than food. The black market may be all-pervading or barely present, depending mostly on the level of enforcement and the inmate population's attitude towards crime and punishment. One downside of an overly healthy black market is that items that should have been available for free on your lunch tray - especially cheese, meat, and desserts - will be obtainable only from the guy down the hall who works in the kitchen and snuck them out between his gym shorts and prison khakis, and his prices will include risk premium he incurred liberating them from the white market.
Creativity and the entrepreneurial spirit are powerful influences on prison cuisine. Peanut butter cracker sandwiches from the commissary may be disassembled and become ingredients in a microwavable pizza crust. A trash can, stolen vegetable oil, and an improvised resistance coil may be combined to make a frying station, serving up fried burritos, crispy apple pies, and a hefty profit for its operator.
No survey of prison diet would be complete without mention of the iconic prison hooch. There is probably no compound where it can't be found, but unlike illicit vegetarian pizzas, hooch will show up on a breath test, so this stone soup of the world alcohol is not as prevalent as one might suppose. Expect to find a batch or two brewing somewhere on any given compound, but for most inmates it will be at most an occasional indulgence to celebrate a cellie's birthday or upcoming release.
Those fixing imminent incarceration or the incarceration of a loved one will be relieved to know that prison food has, at least in the U.S. federal system, progressed far beyond the days of bread and water. Others may take consolation in the fact that the menu is neither opulent nor excessively costly to the taxpayers. Those who have subsisted on this or similar fare, whether as guests of the BOP, in the military, or in a boarding school, may take a moment to remember what it is like and appreciate their next meal at home or at a sit-down restaurant. With seconds, if you please.
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