Essay On Prison Food

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A prison’s focus on cost-cutting leads to distasteful meals and unsatisfied appetites. In some prisons, the food is considered so inedible or devoid of nutrition that inmates who once used cigarettes as currency favors now uses ramen noodle packs. Prison cuisine is already limited but food services are often first to be downsized or turned over to private companies. The result can be a reduction in the quantity or the quality of the food. In some Texas or Tennessee prisons, inmates are only given two meals a day during the weekends. Meals that are high in carbs and low in vegetables and protein, leaving many prisoners hungry for more. Most prisoners today recognize that offering satisfying meals that taste good can allow prisoners to eat their …show more content…

In the 19th century, incoming prisoners had to survive on bread and water until they had served a certain amount of time, then meat and cheese were added to their diets. Decades lates, after learning about human nutrition prison meals were generally regarded more for their calorie content than as a way to control “Healthy prisoners, it was believed, would be productive workers and, ultimately, reformed citizens,” writes criminologists Mary Bosworth. Most institutions rotate their menus, serving the same foods on a cycle. Others plan meals around whatever ingredients they could find at the lowest …show more content…

The contract has then been passed to Trinity Service Group, which is facing claims that the food they're serving is rotten, too dry to eat, and the portions are smaller than ever. Prison food quality is often diminished by thin budgets, but also a lack of flavoring. “A large majority of the population in my facility have health problems, and we need to cook without salt and spicy ingredients,” says Thielman, who is president of the Association of Correctional Food Service Affiliates. “I also do not buy or grow any spice that could be used to assault staff or inmates, such as hot peppers or crushed red

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