Giving Compass' Take:
- Amanda Fong highlights the results of a report on prison food policies that shows that across the country, standards are unacceptably low, in some cases to the point of endangering inmates.
- What do food prison policies look like in your state? What role can you play in improving prison food policies?
- Read our U.S. Criminal Justice System And Reform: Guide For Donors.
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Impact Justice, a nonprofit dedicated to justice reform, recently released a report that finds the low standards of food in prisons can have long-term negative impacts on people who are incarcerated. Report Finds
In Eating Behind Bars: Ending the Hidden Punishment of Food in Prison, Impact Justice describes the types of foods and conditions under which food is served in state prisons. The report also highlights emerging efforts to make nutritious food a priority.
The criminal justice system incarcerates 1.3 million people in state prisons nationwide. The system disproportionately impacts Black and brown communities—who also face higher levels of food insecurity—at far higher rates. But many food movements working to make nutritious food more accessible, just, and equitable frequently leave incarcerated populations out of the conversation.
The report centers the perspectives of people who are incarcerated in its research. Impact Justice conducted almost 500 surveys with formerly incarcerated people and their friends and family members, 11 in-depth interviews with formerly incarcerated people, and 43 interviews with current and former corrections staff in 12 states. They also reviewed 50 state policies regulating the prison food system and surveyed 35 state agencies.
The report finds that the current prison food system has unacceptably low standards. States spend under US$3 per day to feed one person. Meals have small portions and consist of largely processed foods high in carbohydrates, fat, and sugar and almost no fresh fruits and vegetables. With the average incarcerated person eating over 300,000 meals in prison, meals lacking essential nutrients can lead to malnutrition and chronic illness, such as hypertension, behavioral issues, obesity, and weakened immune systems. Many people leave prison more malnourished than they entered.
In some facilities, kitchen workers still had to report to work even if they were showing coronavirus symptoms. In the most extreme cases, prisons locked down and did not allow people to leave their cells. During these periods, meal deliveries to cells were inconsistent.
Read the full article about prison food policies by Amanda Fong at Food Tank.