The day of a prisoner is highly regulated, with set times to go to bed, go outside, and a set menu of what you’re able to eat. Of course, the commissary has some options that allow for a few options not available in the cafeteria, but the only choices are cheap, highly processed snacks and canned food. The Eighth Amendment protects individuals from cruel and unusual punishment, but the unhealthy and often unsafe diet of prisoners is an injustice often overlooked.
Many prisons require certain inmates to work, whether it be doing laundry, cleaning the facility, or even cooking for the other inmates. Because of this, individuals without experience or knowledge in food safety are taking part in making food for hundreds, causing many unsanitary conditions that would be otherwise unacceptable in the outside world. According to a study done by the Prison Policy Initiative, most prisoners only make between $0.30 and $2.30 an hour, which is far below the federal minimum wage and not nearly enough money to incentivize prisoners to actually want to do a good job in their assignments.
Impact Justice, a criminal justice reformation organization, conducted a 2020 study that revealed a lot of the unsavory truths about prison nutrition. In a survey done about the cleanliness of food in prison, 3 in every 4 prisoners reported receiving rotten food at least once during their sentence, many often being served expired meals multiple times a week. Respondents also reported numerous occurrences of meal handlers not adequately washing their hands or sanitizing the dishes and surfaces used to prepare the food. Cleanliness is the bare minimum when it comes to food preparation, and the safety of meals is not a luxury afforded to only free individuals, it is a basic human right. Kimberly Wilson, a psychologist working in a European prison claims, “When you improve nutrition, you reduce violence.”, indicating that a decent diet could improve overall behavior and morale in a correctional facility.
Beyond the initial harm of hygiene, the nutritional content of prison food is virtually nonexistent. The Bureau of Prisons outlines the food safety and preparation guidelines for federal institutions, including considerations about taste and nutritional value. Despite this, these guidelines are often treated as just that: suggestions not to be followed strictly if it is inconvenient for the staff of the prisons. Looking back at the same Impact Justice study, about 90% of prisoners identified most of their meals as visually unappetizing and unenjoyable in taste. While many believe that this is “just desserts” for those who are incarcerated, depriving people of quality and decent-tasting food is psychologically and physically harmful, causing a wide variety of issues ranging from malnutrition to disordered eating behaviors. “The only time we’d get chocolate milk was when the milk was spoiled and they’d add chocolate flavor,” says one woman who was imprisoned in Texas for over 30 years.
If the chow hall isn’t up to par for a prisoner, they also have the option to buy some items from the commissary. While they have the option to choose what they get, there are typically limits on how much they can spend and how often they can buy, meaning that their meals cannot be supplemented with commissary items even if they wanted to and could afford it. Considering the time limit placed on buying from the commissary, it’s no wonder that fresh fruit, vegetables, and meat are unavailable for purchase.
Here, you can see the receipt of a prisoner buying from a commissary in a North Carolina prison. Of course, buying these options is mostly only possible through being sent money by family members or working, which leaves a lot of individuals out of luck for choices to eat outside of the cafeteria. Beyond the toiletry items, it is full of highly processed and unhealthy foods. While there are a few healthy options available like canned tuna and chicken, most of the time, the stores are stocked with items like chips, candy, and other foods high in sugar and salt. If the food available in the cafeteria is unhealthy and the food available for purchase is unhealthy, this means that prisoners have virtually no option to truly eat a diet which is fresh, nutritious, and enjoyable.
The United Nations has recognized the access to safe and culturally appropriate food to be a basic human right, and yet almost every U.S. prison falls behind in providing even hygienic food to their inmates. Many inmates do not receive their special diets for their health or religious restrictions, and most inmates do not receive clean and adequate meals. Regardless of committing a crime, withholding basic needs like food is not in line with a just punishment, it is abuse and neglect that goes against the Eighth Amendment. The first step to justice would be to increase the wages of prison workers to entice them to work well, as well as properly training them to do their jobs properly. Outside of this, incentivizing regular employees to take the treatment of prisoners seriously through adequate wages and benefits is an essential to keep the system running and improve it from the inside.
