The meals served to prisoners have been a catalyst for riots throughout history. Prison advocates and workers say outsourcing the kitchens to companies only makes them worse.
In the popular imagination, prison food is disgusting. The images crop up in films and TV shows as unidentifiable cafeteria slop or a sweaty slab of bologna on two pieces of white bread shoved through a cell door.
But the reality is sometimes even worse.
Incarcerated people are six times more likely to contract foodborne illnesses than people on the outside. Across the country, prisonerscomplain of hunger, sometimes intense enough that it drives them to eat toothpaste and toilet paper. They have been served rancid chicken, food infested with maggots, cake that was nibbled on by rats. Problems with food -- both in terms of quantity and quality -- have been the basis ofprison riots throughout history.
To be fair, running a prison kitchen is no simple task. Staff oversee dozens of inmate kitchen workers and feed hundreds or thousands of prisoners at every meal.
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DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
4 comments:
You haven't fully appreciated life until you've had a toothpaste on toilet paper sandwich.
This is what happened at WCDC when Aramark took over.
Growing up poor,I have eaten bologna on white bread sandwiches and was grateful to have them. If they hadn't commited a crime, they would not be in pruson. It was their choice.
1st-stay out if prison, 2nd staff is served the same food. Thank goodness staff is permitted to bring their own food in.
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