Eating behind bars---a hidden punishment
I first heard complaints and horror stories about prison food 3 decades ago. That was before Humanity for Prisoners was founded. I began working with a friend behind bars to help prove his innocence. This involved numerous prison visits. And, one doesn’t have to chat with inmates for long before the topic of food comes up.
Since I started HFP our
team and I have heard stories you wouldn’t believe…mold, maggots, rotten meat,
rodents and more!
Last month, a fine piece was published about these issues, and that prompts me to talk about it again. Wilfredo Laracuente is a Reentry Program Specialist, and I’ll be lifting some of his quotes from a column entitled IS PRISON FOOD A LONG-TERM DEATH SENTENCE? The simple answer: Yes!
The prison cuisine story is far more complex than just bad food. Let me explain. Here’s what else happens when Michigan spends less than $2 for three meals a day for its state prisoners---
-The Portions are too
small. (A
2020 study by the criminal justice reform advocacy group Impact Justice found
that 94% of incarcerated people surveyed said they did not receive enough food
to feel full.)
-Still-hungry prisoners
often rely on vending machine food to fill their stomach. But, as Laracuente points
out, “Survival meals aren’t nutrition. They keep people alive in the moment
while slowly damaging health over years.”
-Vending machines are a privilege, and not all prisoners can afford these products. If a prisoner is fortunate
enough to get a job here in Michigan, the wages for him or her will range from 14
to 60 cents per hour. Researcher Alysia Santo reports in a nationwide study
that meager portions have left desperate people who cannot afford vending machine food eating toothpaste and toilet
paper.
Laracuente: “When we
feed people poorly and deny them fair wages, we aren’t just punishing them
inside. We are writing chronic illness into their bodies and cutting their
lives short. That is the hidden death sentence of prison food. Subscribing
to these forced dietary restrictions isn’t just uncomfortable—it creates health
concerns that can become a long-term death sentence.
“And the damage doesn’t
stop at the prison gates: Decades of poor nutrition inside fuel chronic
illnesses that follow people home, compounding the struggle of reentry and
cutting years off life expectancy. These conditions are not incidental—they are
diet-driven.
“This isn’t about
taste—it’s about health, dignity, and survival. Lives are being cut short by a
structure that denies nutrition, wages, and care, all in the name of
efficiency.”
Well, there you have it. I’ve been using a lot of quotes because these writers can tell the story better. I admit that I’ve been hammering on this for a long time. Not only in Michigan, but nationwide, we can and must work on improvement.
The
damaging and degrading prison food experience is a
symptom
of a larger systemic malady: our dependence on a
dehumanizing
criminal justice system to address harm.
Soble,
L., Stroud, K., & Weinstein, M.
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