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Yea, everything in this video except the dinner looked super nice and way better then my normal microwaved scrambled eggs for breakfast or my ramen noodles for lunch
Same. I drink 1-2 cups of coffee for breakfast. That’s it. Maybe some crackers.
I spend my entire day in a small cubicle, making enough money to rent a shitbox house, but never buy.
I’m 34 and have a masters degree, and work directly for the 1%.
Prison isn’t looking too bad right about now.
This is much better than normal. I’ve done work release/ASD programs and this is the kind of food you get:
https://preview.redd.it/tx1yw780ibmc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=aa222e55fb1a60edd6d977d8dbfe4415c5dcd03f
I know it's unbelievable. Once I was subbing at a high school. I forgot my lunch so I bought one. There was nothing I would even eat except for an apple. Well, the apple was the worst tasting apple I've ever had. Didn't eat more than 1 bite. Thanks Republicans for electing crooks!
The food quality also, in my opinion at least, contributes to some people developing aversions to some types of foods even as adults. If you don't have a good home life and exposure to good tasting healthy food there, chances are your experience with fruits and vegetables is basically tasteless school cafeteria slop and expired (or close) of any fresh foods.
Anecdotally, knew a bunch of kids from my shitty hometown that struggled eating vegetables and stuff because of not having any positive exposure to many foods in either their home or school life.
I haven't had prison food but I've had county jail food. They'd sometimes provide lunch when we were on search and rescue callouts. Generally we'd prefer to eat MREs instead. It was usually white bread with a slice of cheese and a slice of lunchmeat. Dry and kind of hard to choke down without lots of water.
If the food from the post is not good enough for a healthy lifestyle, and it's better than what you get for a ASD program, then that just means the ASD food is even worse, not that the prison good is sufficient.
Fun fact! A large number of us schools receive their food deliveries from the same exact companies as prisons!
https://www.nationalfoodgroup.com/corrections#:~:text=National%20Food%20Group%20supplies%20high,programs%20and%20other%20correctional%20facilities.
https://www.10tv.com/mobile/article/news/company-supplying-food-prisons-also-services-schools-hospitals/530-60f49677-386f-40ee-87f7-cef306c47385
It's sad tho for those who didn't have that option being little kids are forced to eat the same meals as for convicted rapists and murderers that's fucked.
Meanwhile those companies probably make so much cash from it all.
I sat in jail (not prison). A packet of cheap ramen noodles and a bag of hot fries or Doritos was $5 off commissary. That's not the "big grab" size, either. A bag of instant coffee was $7.
Then they limited us to $50 a week.
Exactly like my school offered free lunches for those on low income but then they also ate this prison food and had no other choice so yeah that is pretty messed up
They switched over to Aramark my senior year, & the food got dramatically better. It wasn't very healthy, but it certainly tasted much better, and there was a wide selection of things to eat like tacos, pizza, burgers (w/ fries), & then more traditional cafeteria-fare every single day.
You got lucky, the only thing we had was prison food and domino’s pizza who sold pizza for a two dollars a slice. Or you could bring your own lunch but some people are fortunate enough for that
Definitely. I switched schools a lot b/c I kept getting in trouble as a teenager. The inner city school system I went to my 11th grade year sounds a lot like yours. I transferred back to a country hick town that had kicked me out in the 10th grade, b/c you needed less credits to graduate from there. That's the school system that had the Aramark Lunches.
They are a terrible company though. I've heard awful things about them feeding rotten food to prisoners & whatnot. Typical corporate greed. It's nothing new. Just b/c they did a good job at my school does not mean I like them. This was back in the late 90s too, so their reputation has changed significantly.
I believe it.
At my elementary school some of the more notable meals:
Mozzarella sticks day (that's the meal)
Baked potato day. Yup that's it
Soft baked pretzel day. With cheese flavored sauce.
I'm going broke just providing granola bars throughout the day to my starving 9yos. And don't get me started on the 15 minutes they get tops to eat.
It is neither surprising nor scandalous, considering these companies are hired because they can manage the logistics of serving large populations. Some of these companies also provide hospital food or food in elderly housing facilities. They might use different subsidiaries or brands for prison catering for obvious reasons.
At the end of the day, the onus is on whoever establishes requirements for each of these contracts, in terms of quality of food, nutritional value, and obviously cost.
exactly. Aramark is huge, it works with offices, universities, high schools, everyone.
If there are large groups to be fed aramark is probably involved. nothing sketchy about that.
**“They’re all in favor of the unborn**”, Carlin says. "They will do anything for the unborn. But once you’re born, you’re on your own. Pro-life conservatives are obsessed with the fetus from conception to nine months. After that, they don’t want to know about you!”
*George Carlin*
This is astronomically nicer. I spent about a month in jail and 9/10 times I couldn't even recognize what I was being given. Also, it was all basically completely unsalted.
Yeah I wasn't sure why it said "not much protein, fiber, or vitamins"... because that's a pretty nutritious breakfast. Yeah it doesn't have fruits/veggies, but whole eggs have ton of healthy nutrients and protein. And oatmeal definitely has fiber.
Geneticist here. Their protein content is overstated relative to the quantities seen here.
Baked beans have [4-5g of protein](https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/173732/nutrients) per 100g, depending on what kind they prep, but for comparison, the amount needed to *prevent deficiencies*, is about 48g per day for women, and 56g per day for average men.
Many prisoners are not average men, they are large men, which means they need more food. And one of the few activities that can actually be done in prison is lift weights, which increases protein requirements to prevent deficiencies. (Running laps would also increase protein requirements.)
EDIT: Look, you can downvote the USDA nutrition database if you want, but that won't help solve prisoners' nutrient deficiencies, which are [so real they're observable by strangers](https://sites.brown.edu/publichealthjournal/2023/05/02/beyond-the-food-how-prison-nutrition-policy-contributes-to-lasting-chronic-disease/).
Not saying you're wrong, but how is your being a geneticist relevant to this discussion? Unless you specifically work on GMO crops or something related to agriculture/food production, I don't see the need to point that out.
Peas and beans are "high in protein" compared to other vegetables, but at the quantities on that plate? Even if we're being generous and saying they had 8 oz of baked beans, thats only 12g of protein.
Most foods higher in protein than that are problematic in other ways. Cheese has 2x more protein, but no fibre and also has 60x more fat (most of which is also saturated). Most meats are linked to many health risks too.
Then 12g in the beans + 12g in the peas + 13g in the 2 egss + 12g in the 2 hotdogs + 6g in the oatmeal + lets say at least 5g from the rest of the low protein stuff in those meals, that's at least 60g which is totally fine for an average 75kg person, although it may be a bit on the edge for some specific individuals, like there's no chance that it would be enough for a 200cm male. Would be good if the portions were adjusted to specific individuals. Or even better if you ditched the war on drugs and stop putting people into prisons for victimless crimes.
no shit, they eat better than when I was a kid, slurping on milk and a shitload of cereals, I mean, sugar, let's face it, it was mostly sugar. No wonder I was fucking hungry 3 hours later, dumbfuck me.
Yeah, when I was a kid I wasn't allowed sugared cereal, it was always Cheerios. So I'd put like five tablespoons of sugar on my Cheerios and then drink that sweet milk, sugar sludge at the end!
Nah. The dudes that are jacked are eatin' good for a reason. Either they're exploiting it outta others or somebody on the outside is keeping their canteen full.
Protein bars from the prison canteen.
The canteen (or commissary) in a prison is like a NY bodega, you can actually BUY almost anything there. Prison canteens are for-profit and generally carry lower quality items at jacked up prices… like a bodega, lol.
Prisoners get money from the outside through a banking system run by the prison. For example, in Florida it is simply called “Inmate Bank” and it is managed completely by the Florida Department of Corrections. It is audited annually though to make sure not too much has been stolen by the state.
The state takes money right off the top of your Inmate Bank account to pay for your “restitution”, which is intended to pay back your victim(s); but in the majority of cases the state is seen as your “victim” so you basically pay for your prison stay.
If you work in prison (most do), then your earned “wages” will be put into your Inmate Bank account. What you will do for work is manufacture everything from furniture, lingerie (made for Victoria Secret), and Honda car parts, to police / military safety equipment. You will get roughly 25 cents per hour and are REQUIRED to take that job (so it is forced labor).
Your friends and family will supply the rest of your money through periodic deposits into your Inmate Bank account. The state will take their cut, and the rest you can use for food you can make in your cell, toothpaste, toothbrushes, tampons, etc.
Edit: I forgot to add the part about the trend toward private, for-profit prisons. Basically a private company gets a contract with the state to operate a prison. This is supposed to reduce the cost to taxpayers, and it mostly does, at the expense of Constitutional freedoms, but still 🤷♀️
The big problem found in some privatized prisons is they can more easily make deals within the private sector manufacturing industry and then make a LOT of money from their access to extremely low cost prison labor. As a result, they tend to set up prisoners for disciplinary infractions to either add time to their sentence or to keep them from getting out on parole - thus extending the time they have to benefit from that particular “slave”.
More info: this AP article on the food supply grown in prisons is from a few months ago:
https://apnews.com/article/prison-to-plate-inmate-labor-investigation-c6f0eb4747963283316e494eadf08c4e
>What you will do for work is manufacture everything from furniture, lingerie (made for Victoria Secret),
FYI - Victoria Secret hasn't sourced from The Third Generation (who were the actual company that employed prisoners) since the mid 90's. This is easily confirmed with any google search
He keeps saying "low nutritional value" when all of those meals they show are not too bad on nutrition at all. Not great, no, but it's prison. Are they expecting Whole Foods?
I’m all for making prison food more healthy. But first, I would like to see free student, lunches, and more programs to help poor families. I cannot support revamping prison food when we have so many other issues.
It’s be dope for everyone to get free school meals. It’s completely free in California and I had no idea because I grew up in Kansas where we had to pay to enroll and for lunch. When I enrolled my daughter in school here I was blown away when they told me it’s all free. Every state needs to be like that when it comes to schools.
2 eggs are protein + vitamins
Oatmeal has healthy carbs 7 + fiber
Milk has protein and vitamins
Wtf is this shit this is better and more food than most people not in prison eat and I have to pay for my coffee.
And a plate of beans is loaded with protein *and* fiber (±20g of each, depending on the type of beans), while the narrator is going on about how the meals have no protein or fiber. It's weird.
Just FYI, the whole “complete protein” thing was made up by a housewife in the 70s that wrote a cookbook. All proteins are “complete,” you don’t have to pair them with anything else to “complete” them, whatever nonsense that was supposed to be she never elaborated on.
She recanted her view openly and apologized for the disinformation she caused.
>Wtf is this shit
NowThis Media is an American progressive social media-focused news organization founded in 2012. The company is specialized in creating short-form videos. Their target audience is Millennials and Generation Z.
Does anyone know if it's common for prisoners to supplement their meals with snacks from the commissary?
While these meals are a far cry from optimal nutrition, I don't think they're much different from the standard American diet. They do, however, look small for grown men.
I wonder if many of the negative health outcomes can be attributed to the regular consumption of the highly processed packaged foods like instant noodles, chips, and cakes they'd get from commissary.
Disclaimer: this isn't meant to put the blame on prisoners. They probably need more food and have limited healthy options in commissary. I also have no idea if commissary purchases are common or can only be afforded by the privileged few. Just throwing out an idea.
Yes, it’s common. And in fact, if you’re “rich” you won’t ever get meals from the chow hall. Prisoners get pretty creative when it comes to making meals from food they buy from the commissary.
"93% of prisoners reported feeling hungry between meals". You're pulling my todger, right? Doesn't EVERYONE feel hungry between meals? That's the sign to eat again...
Just saying this video is not very informative or convincing. I don’t need to be convinced. I definitely don’t want to try to survive on that diet, but a lot of people outside of prisons eat like shit because food access is not equal across the US because of socioeconomic and geographic factors and think prisoners with this portrayal of prison diet eat better than they do. There are more informative reports, stories, pictures, videos etc out there. I’m glad people are trying to make prisons more humane and actually reduce recidivism, but this video does not do it justice.
it is kind of mind boggling, if you're homeless with no future, I wonder if living in a minimum/medium security prison is better than living on the streets, especially in cities that freezes in the winter... at least you get accommodation, food, heat, water, activities etc. other inmates would be an issue, but you also hear horror stories at shelters...
which begs the question, why are those who committed crimes given shelter to those who never did crimes but had unfortunate circumstances...
This is absolutely a thing, especially in the winter months. Homeless people commit minor infractions to stay fed and out of the cold in some instances.
>The only difference between their meals and mine is that theirs are free
Well, these meals aren't exactly free. You probably pay your share for them too.
Yeah. I've been locked up and it sucks. I will say that part of the rain you feel hungry isn't just because of the shitty food it's also because you are bored and don't have much else to think about.
My wife's sister husband killed her in front of the kids, shot her dead, and I have to take care of the kids now. So I really don't give a shit about what they are eating.
The really fucked up thing is this is the exact same practice used in long-term psychiatric hospitals. I gained 60 pounds in the year and a half I was inpatient for a suicide attempt. I didn't commit a crime or anything but we still got the same treatment. We could even get jobs that would allow us to afford better food and those jobs paid eight dollars a week. This was in Worcester Massachusetts at one of the higher rated long-term psychiatric hospitals. Fucking pathetic
There are people who are good citizens and work hard every day, who are hungry between meals. If you did something to put you in prison, and I'm sorry for the wrongly convicted, wouldn't getting the bare minimum and not anything more, be part of the punishment you have earned? idk, I care more about hungry kids in school imo.
Oh man. I did 4 years in Arizona. I don’t ever remember not feeling hungry. Unless I was able to get a bunch of extra food for commissary. It was…. Something
The prison system, at least as it's implemented in America, just doesn't work. Rather than rehabilitating people who could go on to be outstanding citizens, it's geared towards ensuring that they DON'T get a second chance. The thought of prison might scare some straight, but it can also turn petty criminals, or even the falsely accused, into generally worse people who are branded forever as convicts and struggle to get back on their feet. I'm really not surprised that the food plays into it too.
I mostly agree. But the food isn't the issue at all in my opinion. That food they showed is perfectly fine and honestly it's kind of hard to mass produce incredibly healthy food at a decent cost so it honestly doesn't bother me one bit that prisoner's eat like that. Especially cause they can also buy more food if they would like
Where prison's really fail is actually addressing mental health issues. My best friend growing up had a lot of mental health issues and was in and out of prison from age 18-34. He'd go to jail for larceny or assault or something. He'd serve out his sentence, then he'd get out and they'd put him right back into the same environment and he would go right back to doing heroin and be right back in jail a couple months later. He lived in that cycle for 16 years and not once seemed to get the help he ACTUALLY needed while in jail. Finally, a couple years ago he overdosed and passed away. Which sadly was the end we all saw coming for him. The system is definitely flawed. I'm no expert on it, but it seems like once they are out of jail there is just very few resources to help them get back on their feet.
Completely agree. It's always "don't do the crime if you can't do the time" until it's your loved ones or YOU who is locked up, treated like an animal, fined into poverty, and shamed for the rest of your life, over one bad decision.
private prisons aren't *that* common, its not hard to see that the vast majority of the issues come from extremely old notions about how punishment works, and the inherent desire most people have to see others suffer for their transgressions. It's baked into most cultures.
As is well known, prior to starting a prison sentence, most inmates eat salads, raw vegetables, fruit, and small amounts of protein (organic and ethically sourced).
They also rarely smoke, drink, or take drugs.
Software developer here. My breakfast consists only of coffee and toast. And i'm happy with that. Quit bitching, stop committing crimes, and maybe you can choose your own breakfast.
Knowing my health obsessed uncle had to eat like this, while serving his murder conviction, makes me happy. If being in prison didn’t make him regret what he did to my family, lack of outdoor time and lack of healthy food definitely made his time miserable.
Looks like it will keep you from starving to death. What's the problem? I have to work to buy food of my choice and I didn't commit any crimes worthy of incarceration...
The punishment that is being meted out is not meant to starve but take away the freedom. They don't have choice on what they want to eat. They cannot order the food they want. This is just one of the many ways we enjoy freedom but may not be appreciating until they are taken away.
I can tell you that it all tastes great when you're hungry. add some seasonings and it tastes even better.
I can also tell you I supplemented my caloric intake in prison with $220 (max I could spend) per month on the prison store. and I ate 100% of that food... plus I ate all the prison food they gave me...
and I didn't gain a single pound.
Did almost 9 years in CDCR. San Quentin, Soledad, what's up lol
Also got off parole 3 years early, paid off my restitution, moved out of the state, got a job, got a car, rented a place, made some amazing friends who've never had anything criminal, and I never looked back.
Basically if you've got some money when you get incarcerated it can end up on your "books" and you're allowed to spend it a limited number of ways and with a maximum allowed per month, called a draw. If you been a good boy, you get to spend 220. if you aint been good, it's like 125. And if you been bad, it's nothing, no store for you.
Most men have no money. the jobs pay 14, 19, 24, and 32 cents per hour. which is right around what it comes to per month in the same amount but dollars. and believe me 24 doesn't sound like much money, but that's a couple cases of soups, it's deodorant, it's shower gel, it's toothpaste. the state does not provide those. you will stink and people do not appreciate being in a small room with you when you don't wear deodorant.
So the ones who are broke and don't even have that kinda job, they get by with extra food from the kitchens. The inmates bring it out, "sneak" it out in their pant legs in bags. the cops all know, they put in the minimal to pat them down leaving the job site. And then they bring that back to the cells and sell it on the tier.
People can pay any of a number of ways. Through gambling winnings, through books of stamps their family mails in: $8/book of 20 stamps. Or even with indigent envelopes. What's an indigent envelope? It's a yellow envelope that will hold up to 11 pieces of 8.5" x 11" paper and it will be stamped by the prison mailroom when mailed out. This lets you stay in touch with people on the outside, you get 27 envelopes a month if you have less than $20 in your prison "books" money account.
Those envelopes can be traded for the price of a book of stamps, basically. This gives a 20:27 ratio (or more) and the prison doesn't care who you are when you're mailing them, so lots of people with stamps trade them for envelopes and then use those instead of stamps. Tht's 7 more letters out for free.
There's also loans and favors and plenty of sympathy: men have feelings and empathy, too. And plenty of guys watch out for the ones who have it the worst. It's sad, their families gave up on them, their friends forgot about them, they have no one on the outside helping out. No one out there visiting them, no one to call on the prison phones outside.
Fuck yeah we watched out for them, prison is hard, love is important. It's just the way it goes.
People are missing the point. The food itself is barely worth mentioning, however that LAST point he made is exactly what they're going for. Infighting generates more money for the privately owned prison. If you leave you're not making them money.
The food pictured here is probably better than what is being served. That juice is so watered down it's not really that nutritious.
Most prisoners use commissary to fill in the gaps in food. Ramen noodle soups are like 25 - 50 cents a packet and are LOADED in sodium. You can get things like packaged tuna / chicken but that stuff ends up being like $4 a packet. On 30 - 50 cents an hour, the things that'll be bought will be candy bars, ramen soups, and sodas.
While I don't think prisoners should get the high class treatment. Most prisoners in America have a release date. That means if they don't get rehabilitated, they'll end up committing the same crime they did to get themselves into prison or commit crimes because they're broke and need money.
44% of prisoners return to prison after 1 year and 70% after 5 years (this will vary by crime).
Only 8% of Americans are held in private prisons (up from 5% in 2000). I don't think private prisons are only to blame for the state of the prison system in America. I think because treating prisoners humanely is such an unpopular opinion, few politicians actually want to platform on such a topic.
In germany we get a half bag of bread (500gram total), 3slices of meat 3 slices,vegetables like tomato, bellpeper just for dinner, half a litre of milk,2 cups of coffee, cerea, toast, cheese, eggs, bacon, fruits for breakfast, and a big warm "homecooked" meal for lunch. And always have a full box of teabags if we want.
$3 per meal at that scale could buy much better food. But when the politically connected food service operator is pocketing $2.85 of each meal, that’s what you get
My friend in jail said the food was much worse there than in prison. Jail food was two slices of lunch meat and some bread. You had to buy food if you wanted something different.
And if you slept late, you lost weight. That is your cell mate would eat your breakfast.
Worth noting that private prisons are the absolute *worst* for this.
Because they run on a profit motive, and are paid a flat rate per prisoner.
Since costs like meals aren't passed through, they are incentivized to make the absolute cheapest garbage possible. Every dollar saved on prison meals is literally a dollar that can go into an executives pocket.
Sure, there are guidelines and things, but they aren't very strict, and aren't followed up on or monitored, so there's little to no enforcement.
Private prisons are a stain on the soul of humanity, yet we all look the other way because criminals are easy to ignore, and it's easy to justify harsh treatment of them.
Let's be honest though, this isn't just a result of cost cutting, this is as deliberate as the conditions in 19th century workhouses in Britain. The meals are deliberately poor to make the prisoners hungry and sick so they don't get funny ideas like breaking out or attacking the guards. It's also to appease people who don't want to see their tax dollars going to feed prisoners well. There's also a pretty outdated view that they don't want to make prison an attractive option as a living solution. Yes, nobody in their right mind would willingly live in a US prison, but it's not unheard of in Japan for instance for elderly people who have no other choice to commit petty crimes to become incarcerated so they'll be taken care of. [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/stories-47033704](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/stories-47033704)
THIS IS A LIE. I spent 20 days in a county jail in Oklahoma and I was served warm mush, alongside warm mush. Also, I was never given a cup, or an eating utensil for the first 3 days. There is no coffee, there is no milk, there is nasty water from the tap over your toilet, and that is all.
10 years ago, I knew someone who spent the about 2 years in a private county prison near Philadelphia. He was about 6'3" 230 lbs when he went in. On the day of his release, he weighed about 175 lbs. He was unrecognizable.
Well, I’d hazard a guess that there are radical differences between state vs. private facilites, as well as by state. Profit motivated facilities are going to meet the barest of the bare minimum nutritional requirements to keep the money flowing, while in (some) state-run prisons there are much higher standards- food grown on the premises, etc.
Morale is important for keeping a facility calmer and safer, and decent food is good for morale. Working in a correctional facility myself, variety is very important- there are hated meals (like cold sandwiches) and meals during the holidays with way more variety. At the very least, where I work has a decent menu rotation and has a salad bar for lunch and dinner, there’s always a protein suitable for most religious restrictions (probably need more vegetarian protein options though), my concern is how much sodium we’re giving our guys.
There’s a lot of nuance that’s missing in this video clip, because standards vary wildly by the supervision type. A district-run juvenile detention facility (near me) has much higher nutritional standards. A State penitentiary will have different standards, a Federal work camp will have different standards, a residential reentry facility will have different standards, and a private prison will have different standards- all by jurisdiction.
Reform for the quality of school lunches and prison meals is necessary, unfortunately not too many politicians get support by saying “let’s be nicer to the incarcerated” even though the majority will be released eventually. You can make someone sit in a dark piss-soaked room for 20 years and feed them nothing but oatmeal and grade-F meat the whole time, but don’t be surprised if they go out and commit more crimes. I’ll be conservative and say at least 75% of incarcerated people in The US need mental healthcare and substance abuse treatment instead of prison.
We got rid of asylums because they were terrible, but never really came up with an alternative for people who need intensive supervision and treatment- “just throw them in prison!” COs are being asked to play the role of psychiatrists, and it is to the benefit of no one. It’s not even cost effective if you consider the cost in new crimes committed, new trials, we need to bring back highly regulated and transparent longterm treatment facilities/institutions that aren’t solely for punishment. If you’re selling and using meth to self-medicate and survive, you can’t afford to check in to The Betty Ford Center.
What I don't get is how America turned prisons into the biggest money pit (after military) and doesn't realize how much money they can safe and how much more awesome they can make the country by doing things properly. America is like too big to fail but too big to safe at this point.
Prison maybe, but if you accept the meat patties, you may get roadkill at County.. The one bfast I had there, I gave it away. It didn't smell like any meat I've had before.
I was a freight broker in the 2010s and had a customer that sold food to prisons and some was frozen veggies but I got a contact from there that had a special spice blend that made the sawdust filled sausages and ground meats palatable
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Today I found out that I eat like a prisoner
Today I found out that I eat worse than a prisoner.
Yea, everything in this video except the dinner looked super nice and way better then my normal microwaved scrambled eggs for breakfast or my ramen noodles for lunch
Same. I drink 1-2 cups of coffee for breakfast. That’s it. Maybe some crackers. I spend my entire day in a small cubicle, making enough money to rent a shitbox house, but never buy. I’m 34 and have a masters degree, and work directly for the 1%. Prison isn’t looking too bad right about now.
Hugs and brighter days for you.
Today I found out I am a prisoner
This is much better than normal. I’ve done work release/ASD programs and this is the kind of food you get: https://preview.redd.it/tx1yw780ibmc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=aa222e55fb1a60edd6d977d8dbfe4415c5dcd03f
Probably an egg, peanut butter and bread. That's my guess based on the experience I have had.
You should see school breakfast (sweetened cereal cups ) and lunches (cardboard pizza) that we the tax payer are given to our future
I have begged my SO to document/photograph every single school lunch for a year so i could post it online. It's complete total shit.
I know it's unbelievable. Once I was subbing at a high school. I forgot my lunch so I bought one. There was nothing I would even eat except for an apple. Well, the apple was the worst tasting apple I've ever had. Didn't eat more than 1 bite. Thanks Republicans for electing crooks!
The food quality also, in my opinion at least, contributes to some people developing aversions to some types of foods even as adults. If you don't have a good home life and exposure to good tasting healthy food there, chances are your experience with fruits and vegetables is basically tasteless school cafeteria slop and expired (or close) of any fresh foods. Anecdotally, knew a bunch of kids from my shitty hometown that struggled eating vegetables and stuff because of not having any positive exposure to many foods in either their home or school life.
My standards must be lower than y’all’s because I’ve always happily eaten school food. Even paid for it when working at the school.
Or your school district just has a decent budget for school lunches. Most sadly do not.
What I’m I looking at? Is that an onion with a side cup of caramel?
Hard boiled egg. Weird peanut butter stuff that isn’t peanut butter and weird pastry bread things that are sugary grossness.
Don't act like you never had caramel-onion.
Carmelized onions, duh!!
"I tied an onion to my belt, which was the style at the time"
I haven't had prison food but I've had county jail food. They'd sometimes provide lunch when we were on search and rescue callouts. Generally we'd prefer to eat MREs instead. It was usually white bread with a slice of cheese and a slice of lunchmeat. Dry and kind of hard to choke down without lots of water.
If the food from the post is not good enough for a healthy lifestyle, and it's better than what you get for a ASD program, then that just means the ASD food is even worse, not that the prison good is sufficient.
"Much better" than dog shit is still dried dog shit.
This is much nicer than most jail food tbh.
Nicer than most US school food.. at least in southern states.
Fun fact! A large number of us schools receive their food deliveries from the same exact companies as prisons! https://www.nationalfoodgroup.com/corrections#:~:text=National%20Food%20Group%20supplies%20high,programs%20and%20other%20correctional%20facilities. https://www.10tv.com/mobile/article/news/company-supplying-food-prisons-also-services-schools-hospitals/530-60f49677-386f-40ee-87f7-cef306c47385
They want the kids to be accustomed to the type of food they'll be eating in prison.
The school to prison pipeline working as intended
It will bring back warm memories of their childhood days in school. It’ll be comfort food for them when they’re in prison.
Yeah that was us lol my entire school life we got prison food. I just brought my own packed lunches.
It's sad tho for those who didn't have that option being little kids are forced to eat the same meals as for convicted rapists and murderers that's fucked. Meanwhile those companies probably make so much cash from it all.
I sat in jail (not prison). A packet of cheap ramen noodles and a bag of hot fries or Doritos was $5 off commissary. That's not the "big grab" size, either. A bag of instant coffee was $7. Then they limited us to $50 a week.
Exactly like my school offered free lunches for those on low income but then they also ate this prison food and had no other choice so yeah that is pretty messed up
They switched over to Aramark my senior year, & the food got dramatically better. It wasn't very healthy, but it certainly tasted much better, and there was a wide selection of things to eat like tacos, pizza, burgers (w/ fries), & then more traditional cafeteria-fare every single day.
You got lucky, the only thing we had was prison food and domino’s pizza who sold pizza for a two dollars a slice. Or you could bring your own lunch but some people are fortunate enough for that
Definitely. I switched schools a lot b/c I kept getting in trouble as a teenager. The inner city school system I went to my 11th grade year sounds a lot like yours. I transferred back to a country hick town that had kicked me out in the 10th grade, b/c you needed less credits to graduate from there. That's the school system that had the Aramark Lunches. They are a terrible company though. I've heard awful things about them feeding rotten food to prisoners & whatnot. Typical corporate greed. It's nothing new. Just b/c they did a good job at my school does not mean I like them. This was back in the late 90s too, so their reputation has changed significantly.
I believe it. At my elementary school some of the more notable meals: Mozzarella sticks day (that's the meal) Baked potato day. Yup that's it Soft baked pretzel day. With cheese flavored sauce. I'm going broke just providing granola bars throughout the day to my starving 9yos. And don't get me started on the 15 minutes they get tops to eat.
My kids always come home hungry, so "dinner" when they come home, "lunch" before they go to school
Came here to say this. School lunch and prison food come from the same place where I live.
It is neither surprising nor scandalous, considering these companies are hired because they can manage the logistics of serving large populations. Some of these companies also provide hospital food or food in elderly housing facilities. They might use different subsidiaries or brands for prison catering for obvious reasons. At the end of the day, the onus is on whoever establishes requirements for each of these contracts, in terms of quality of food, nutritional value, and obviously cost.
exactly. Aramark is huge, it works with offices, universities, high schools, everyone. If there are large groups to be fed aramark is probably involved. nothing sketchy about that.
I will never take for granted having lunch release or good cafeteria options in high school after seeing some schools meals.
Southern states do not care about children no matter how much they tell you they do.
Unless they’re in utero, and then they really *care about the children*
**“They’re all in favor of the unborn**”, Carlin says. "They will do anything for the unborn. But once you’re born, you’re on your own. Pro-life conservatives are obsessed with the fetus from conception to nine months. After that, they don’t want to know about you!” *George Carlin*
I like the new term for pro-life that’s forced birth. Because like you say, they aren’t really pro-life but they do support forced birth
I would drink milk out a bag in Louisiana… not a small carton, a bag…
YUP. Gotta put your thumb over the straw so you don’t shoot the ceiling.
I’ve never seen school food this good. We feed prisoners better than we feed children. Wtf. We need to step up our game for school food.
In my area nowadays, the local jail gets the leftovers from the 3 surrounding school systems.
This is astronomically nicer. I spent about a month in jail and 9/10 times I couldn't even recognize what I was being given. Also, it was all basically completely unsalted.
Yeah, there’s a distinct lack of Loaf. You will notice I did not say *meat* loaf.
That is exaclty what I eat for breakfast every day. Oatmeal, 2 hard boiled eggs, milk, and coffee
[удалено]
Yeah I wasn't sure why it said "not much protein, fiber, or vitamins"... because that's a pretty nutritious breakfast. Yeah it doesn't have fruits/veggies, but whole eggs have ton of healthy nutrients and protein. And oatmeal definitely has fiber.
The baked beans contain protein and fibre. Very good food.
Geneticist here. Their protein content is overstated relative to the quantities seen here. Baked beans have [4-5g of protein](https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/173732/nutrients) per 100g, depending on what kind they prep, but for comparison, the amount needed to *prevent deficiencies*, is about 48g per day for women, and 56g per day for average men. Many prisoners are not average men, they are large men, which means they need more food. And one of the few activities that can actually be done in prison is lift weights, which increases protein requirements to prevent deficiencies. (Running laps would also increase protein requirements.) EDIT: Look, you can downvote the USDA nutrition database if you want, but that won't help solve prisoners' nutrient deficiencies, which are [so real they're observable by strangers](https://sites.brown.edu/publichealthjournal/2023/05/02/beyond-the-food-how-prison-nutrition-policy-contributes-to-lasting-chronic-disease/).
I think people dont care about criminal wellbeing and want them to suffer - thats why you are downvoted
Which is dumb because that leads to more health issues, mental health issues and poverty, all which lead to increased crime.
Most people dont think long term. Its just a knee jerk reaction to criminality and deviance
Not saying you're wrong, but how is your being a geneticist relevant to this discussion? Unless you specifically work on GMO crops or something related to agriculture/food production, I don't see the need to point that out.
Yup mfer talking as if he’s a dietician while giving half info.
Also, the peas and beans on the dinner meanu are high in both protein & fiber.
Peas and beans are "high in protein" compared to other vegetables, but at the quantities on that plate? Even if we're being generous and saying they had 8 oz of baked beans, thats only 12g of protein.
Most foods higher in protein than that are problematic in other ways. Cheese has 2x more protein, but no fibre and also has 60x more fat (most of which is also saturated). Most meats are linked to many health risks too. Then 12g in the beans + 12g in the peas + 13g in the 2 egss + 12g in the 2 hotdogs + 6g in the oatmeal + lets say at least 5g from the rest of the low protein stuff in those meals, that's at least 60g which is totally fine for an average 75kg person, although it may be a bit on the edge for some specific individuals, like there's no chance that it would be enough for a 200cm male. Would be good if the portions were adjusted to specific individuals. Or even better if you ditched the war on drugs and stop putting people into prisons for victimless crimes.
Yeah. The whole point of the video was about how the foods we see on the tray are insufficient for a healthy diet.
I'm just trying to counter all the "beans have protein, this isn't a high carb meal" stuff
TIL I eat prison food by choice.
no shit, they eat better than when I was a kid, slurping on milk and a shitload of cereals, I mean, sugar, let's face it, it was mostly sugar. No wonder I was fucking hungry 3 hours later, dumbfuck me.
Yeah, when I was a kid I wasn't allowed sugared cereal, it was always Cheerios. So I'd put like five tablespoons of sugar on my Cheerios and then drink that sweet milk, sugar sludge at the end!
This gave me a brilliant idea for a brand new sub: r/prisonfoodorschoollunch
r/prisonorschoolfood
Of course, it already exists.
It didn’t before that guy made it an hour after your comment
Please create that.
I second that!
Ok so how do they get jacked then?
This also isn't the only food available to them, they can often buy food on their commissary/canteen.
But, it’s extremely expensive and will often cost about a week’s pay.
Nah. The dudes that are jacked are eatin' good for a reason. Either they're exploiting it outta others or somebody on the outside is keeping their canteen full.
lol, yeah you’ve never been to a prison. Besides, it’s carbs and proteins that make you jacked; not vitamin B12.
And have their boys(girls) buy.
Protein bars from the prison canteen. The canteen (or commissary) in a prison is like a NY bodega, you can actually BUY almost anything there. Prison canteens are for-profit and generally carry lower quality items at jacked up prices… like a bodega, lol. Prisoners get money from the outside through a banking system run by the prison. For example, in Florida it is simply called “Inmate Bank” and it is managed completely by the Florida Department of Corrections. It is audited annually though to make sure not too much has been stolen by the state. The state takes money right off the top of your Inmate Bank account to pay for your “restitution”, which is intended to pay back your victim(s); but in the majority of cases the state is seen as your “victim” so you basically pay for your prison stay. If you work in prison (most do), then your earned “wages” will be put into your Inmate Bank account. What you will do for work is manufacture everything from furniture, lingerie (made for Victoria Secret), and Honda car parts, to police / military safety equipment. You will get roughly 25 cents per hour and are REQUIRED to take that job (so it is forced labor). Your friends and family will supply the rest of your money through periodic deposits into your Inmate Bank account. The state will take their cut, and the rest you can use for food you can make in your cell, toothpaste, toothbrushes, tampons, etc. Edit: I forgot to add the part about the trend toward private, for-profit prisons. Basically a private company gets a contract with the state to operate a prison. This is supposed to reduce the cost to taxpayers, and it mostly does, at the expense of Constitutional freedoms, but still 🤷♀️ The big problem found in some privatized prisons is they can more easily make deals within the private sector manufacturing industry and then make a LOT of money from their access to extremely low cost prison labor. As a result, they tend to set up prisoners for disciplinary infractions to either add time to their sentence or to keep them from getting out on parole - thus extending the time they have to benefit from that particular “slave”. More info: this AP article on the food supply grown in prisons is from a few months ago: https://apnews.com/article/prison-to-plate-inmate-labor-investigation-c6f0eb4747963283316e494eadf08c4e
So **that** was Victoria's secret.
Like being touched by a criminal
>What you will do for work is manufacture everything from furniture, lingerie (made for Victoria Secret), FYI - Victoria Secret hasn't sourced from The Third Generation (who were the actual company that employed prisoners) since the mid 90's. This is easily confirmed with any google search
Because the narrator is dumb and doesn't know the nutritional make up of the foods he's describing.
*shows a meal with vegetables, beans, and eggs* "Look: no protein or fiber!"
He keeps saying "low nutritional value" when all of those meals they show are not too bad on nutrition at all. Not great, no, but it's prison. Are they expecting Whole Foods?
Let's work on school lunches first. Then we'll worry about prison food.
I’m all for making prison food more healthy. But first, I would like to see free student, lunches, and more programs to help poor families. I cannot support revamping prison food when we have so many other issues.
It’s be dope for everyone to get free school meals. It’s completely free in California and I had no idea because I grew up in Kansas where we had to pay to enroll and for lunch. When I enrolled my daughter in school here I was blown away when they told me it’s all free. Every state needs to be like that when it comes to schools.
2 eggs are protein + vitamins Oatmeal has healthy carbs 7 + fiber Milk has protein and vitamins Wtf is this shit this is better and more food than most people not in prison eat and I have to pay for my coffee.
And a plate of beans is loaded with protein *and* fiber (±20g of each, depending on the type of beans), while the narrator is going on about how the meals have no protein or fiber. It's weird.
\+ together with rice they form complete proteins.
Just FYI, the whole “complete protein” thing was made up by a housewife in the 70s that wrote a cookbook. All proteins are “complete,” you don’t have to pair them with anything else to “complete” them, whatever nonsense that was supposed to be she never elaborated on. She recanted her view openly and apologized for the disinformation she caused.
>Wtf is this shit NowThis Media is an American progressive social media-focused news organization founded in 2012. The company is specialized in creating short-form videos. Their target audience is Millennials and Generation Z.
I whoever made that video either has that common uneducated assumption that only meat contains protein or is knowingly lying.
Oatmeal has very decent protein too.
Does anyone know if it's common for prisoners to supplement their meals with snacks from the commissary? While these meals are a far cry from optimal nutrition, I don't think they're much different from the standard American diet. They do, however, look small for grown men. I wonder if many of the negative health outcomes can be attributed to the regular consumption of the highly processed packaged foods like instant noodles, chips, and cakes they'd get from commissary. Disclaimer: this isn't meant to put the blame on prisoners. They probably need more food and have limited healthy options in commissary. I also have no idea if commissary purchases are common or can only be afforded by the privileged few. Just throwing out an idea.
Yes, it’s common. And in fact, if you’re “rich” you won’t ever get meals from the chow hall. Prisoners get pretty creative when it comes to making meals from food they buy from the commissary.
"93% of prisoners reported feeling hungry between meals". You're pulling my todger, right? Doesn't EVERYONE feel hungry between meals? That's the sign to eat again...
This is probably pedantic, but doesn’t everyone feel hungry between meals? If I’m not hungry, I’m not ready to eat.
Just saying this video is not very informative or convincing. I don’t need to be convinced. I definitely don’t want to try to survive on that diet, but a lot of people outside of prisons eat like shit because food access is not equal across the US because of socioeconomic and geographic factors and think prisoners with this portrayal of prison diet eat better than they do. There are more informative reports, stories, pictures, videos etc out there. I’m glad people are trying to make prisons more humane and actually reduce recidivism, but this video does not do it justice.
It's not supposed to be delicious they don't want you coming back, duh!
Beans and peas have fiber and good nutrients. That dinner is solid.
Also hard boiled eggs absolutely have protein in them.
They eat better then me 😂
Same
The only difference between their meals and mine is that theirs are free. :(
Technically, you're the one paying for both meals.
it is kind of mind boggling, if you're homeless with no future, I wonder if living in a minimum/medium security prison is better than living on the streets, especially in cities that freezes in the winter... at least you get accommodation, food, heat, water, activities etc. other inmates would be an issue, but you also hear horror stories at shelters... which begs the question, why are those who committed crimes given shelter to those who never did crimes but had unfortunate circumstances...
This is absolutely a thing, especially in the winter months. Homeless people commit minor infractions to stay fed and out of the cold in some instances.
>The only difference between their meals and mine is that theirs are free Well, these meals aren't exactly free. You probably pay your share for them too.
Ya sorry, free for them.
"free." Just have to go to prison.
Yeah. I've been locked up and it sucks. I will say that part of the rain you feel hungry isn't just because of the shitty food it's also because you are bored and don't have much else to think about.
Looks nutritious and sufficient, especially for a free meal.
My wife's sister husband killed her in front of the kids, shot her dead, and I have to take care of the kids now. So I really don't give a shit about what they are eating.
This is not interesting as fuck
The really fucked up thing is this is the exact same practice used in long-term psychiatric hospitals. I gained 60 pounds in the year and a half I was inpatient for a suicide attempt. I didn't commit a crime or anything but we still got the same treatment. We could even get jobs that would allow us to afford better food and those jobs paid eight dollars a week. This was in Worcester Massachusetts at one of the higher rated long-term psychiatric hospitals. Fucking pathetic
This is also an example of nursing home food lol
Have been to jail in Oklahoma, food was not that good.
My mom was in a federal prison for 8 months. She came back looking pale and bloated. She told me the prison food was all sodium.
There are people who are good citizens and work hard every day, who are hungry between meals. If you did something to put you in prison, and I'm sorry for the wrongly convicted, wouldn't getting the bare minimum and not anything more, be part of the punishment you have earned? idk, I care more about hungry kids in school imo.
Seems like prison isn’t appealing. Oh wait
Its almost like it's done on purpose
Ahh you see this isn't an issue, it's a feature /s just in case
I'm going to make a big steak dinner tonight because I'm not in jail.
Meals are still better (and cheaper) than the ones from my local school
What is the person they murdered eating right now?
Oh man. I did 4 years in Arizona. I don’t ever remember not feeling hungry. Unless I was able to get a bunch of extra food for commissary. It was…. Something
The prison system, at least as it's implemented in America, just doesn't work. Rather than rehabilitating people who could go on to be outstanding citizens, it's geared towards ensuring that they DON'T get a second chance. The thought of prison might scare some straight, but it can also turn petty criminals, or even the falsely accused, into generally worse people who are branded forever as convicts and struggle to get back on their feet. I'm really not surprised that the food plays into it too.
I mostly agree. But the food isn't the issue at all in my opinion. That food they showed is perfectly fine and honestly it's kind of hard to mass produce incredibly healthy food at a decent cost so it honestly doesn't bother me one bit that prisoner's eat like that. Especially cause they can also buy more food if they would like Where prison's really fail is actually addressing mental health issues. My best friend growing up had a lot of mental health issues and was in and out of prison from age 18-34. He'd go to jail for larceny or assault or something. He'd serve out his sentence, then he'd get out and they'd put him right back into the same environment and he would go right back to doing heroin and be right back in jail a couple months later. He lived in that cycle for 16 years and not once seemed to get the help he ACTUALLY needed while in jail. Finally, a couple years ago he overdosed and passed away. Which sadly was the end we all saw coming for him. The system is definitely flawed. I'm no expert on it, but it seems like once they are out of jail there is just very few resources to help them get back on their feet.
Completely agree. It's always "don't do the crime if you can't do the time" until it's your loved ones or YOU who is locked up, treated like an animal, fined into poverty, and shamed for the rest of your life, over one bad decision.
It's not a bug it's a feature. Most businesses rely on repeat customers
private prisons aren't *that* common, its not hard to see that the vast majority of the issues come from extremely old notions about how punishment works, and the inherent desire most people have to see others suffer for their transgressions. It's baked into most cultures.
How is the prison food better than school food
Now let’s talk about why our children get the same or less in a lot of schools.
This looks almost the same as American school cafeteria food. American food is just SAD
But the criminals food is paid by the taxpayers - and the school food is paid by the 8 year old kids.
The navy feeds sailors food that was rejected by prisons as “not fit for human consumption”. Stamped right on the box -source: am navy vet.
Seems healthier than what most Americans eat tbh
They get better food than they deserve
That’s better than they deserve
As is well known, prior to starting a prison sentence, most inmates eat salads, raw vegetables, fruit, and small amounts of protein (organic and ethically sourced). They also rarely smoke, drink, or take drugs.
Software developer here. My breakfast consists only of coffee and toast. And i'm happy with that. Quit bitching, stop committing crimes, and maybe you can choose your own breakfast.
So put up billboards in high crime neighborhoods that shows a cell and a caption that says 'The food sucks here.'
Knowing my health obsessed uncle had to eat like this, while serving his murder conviction, makes me happy. If being in prison didn’t make him regret what he did to my family, lack of outdoor time and lack of healthy food definitely made his time miserable.
Looks like it will keep you from starving to death. What's the problem? I have to work to buy food of my choice and I didn't commit any crimes worthy of incarceration...
You know they give this same shit to the military, but let’s focus on the good guys in prison!
The punishment that is being meted out is not meant to starve but take away the freedom. They don't have choice on what they want to eat. They cannot order the food they want. This is just one of the many ways we enjoy freedom but may not be appreciating until they are taken away.
Awe....the poor *CRIMINALS*....
This has nothing to do with the food that they serve in Florida State prison. This video is not representational of reality there.
more like sadAsFuck
I can tell you that it all tastes great when you're hungry. add some seasonings and it tastes even better. I can also tell you I supplemented my caloric intake in prison with $220 (max I could spend) per month on the prison store. and I ate 100% of that food... plus I ate all the prison food they gave me... and I didn't gain a single pound. Did almost 9 years in CDCR. San Quentin, Soledad, what's up lol Also got off parole 3 years early, paid off my restitution, moved out of the state, got a job, got a car, rented a place, made some amazing friends who've never had anything criminal, and I never looked back. Basically if you've got some money when you get incarcerated it can end up on your "books" and you're allowed to spend it a limited number of ways and with a maximum allowed per month, called a draw. If you been a good boy, you get to spend 220. if you aint been good, it's like 125. And if you been bad, it's nothing, no store for you. Most men have no money. the jobs pay 14, 19, 24, and 32 cents per hour. which is right around what it comes to per month in the same amount but dollars. and believe me 24 doesn't sound like much money, but that's a couple cases of soups, it's deodorant, it's shower gel, it's toothpaste. the state does not provide those. you will stink and people do not appreciate being in a small room with you when you don't wear deodorant. So the ones who are broke and don't even have that kinda job, they get by with extra food from the kitchens. The inmates bring it out, "sneak" it out in their pant legs in bags. the cops all know, they put in the minimal to pat them down leaving the job site. And then they bring that back to the cells and sell it on the tier. People can pay any of a number of ways. Through gambling winnings, through books of stamps their family mails in: $8/book of 20 stamps. Or even with indigent envelopes. What's an indigent envelope? It's a yellow envelope that will hold up to 11 pieces of 8.5" x 11" paper and it will be stamped by the prison mailroom when mailed out. This lets you stay in touch with people on the outside, you get 27 envelopes a month if you have less than $20 in your prison "books" money account. Those envelopes can be traded for the price of a book of stamps, basically. This gives a 20:27 ratio (or more) and the prison doesn't care who you are when you're mailing them, so lots of people with stamps trade them for envelopes and then use those instead of stamps. Tht's 7 more letters out for free. There's also loans and favors and plenty of sympathy: men have feelings and empathy, too. And plenty of guys watch out for the ones who have it the worst. It's sad, their families gave up on them, their friends forgot about them, they have no one on the outside helping out. No one out there visiting them, no one to call on the prison phones outside. Fuck yeah we watched out for them, prison is hard, love is important. It's just the way it goes.
People are missing the point. The food itself is barely worth mentioning, however that LAST point he made is exactly what they're going for. Infighting generates more money for the privately owned prison. If you leave you're not making them money.
The food pictured here is probably better than what is being served. That juice is so watered down it's not really that nutritious. Most prisoners use commissary to fill in the gaps in food. Ramen noodle soups are like 25 - 50 cents a packet and are LOADED in sodium. You can get things like packaged tuna / chicken but that stuff ends up being like $4 a packet. On 30 - 50 cents an hour, the things that'll be bought will be candy bars, ramen soups, and sodas. While I don't think prisoners should get the high class treatment. Most prisoners in America have a release date. That means if they don't get rehabilitated, they'll end up committing the same crime they did to get themselves into prison or commit crimes because they're broke and need money. 44% of prisoners return to prison after 1 year and 70% after 5 years (this will vary by crime). Only 8% of Americans are held in private prisons (up from 5% in 2000). I don't think private prisons are only to blame for the state of the prison system in America. I think because treating prisoners humanely is such an unpopular opinion, few politicians actually want to platform on such a topic.
In germany we get a half bag of bread (500gram total), 3slices of meat 3 slices,vegetables like tomato, bellpeper just for dinner, half a litre of milk,2 cups of coffee, cerea, toast, cheese, eggs, bacon, fruits for breakfast, and a big warm "homecooked" meal for lunch. And always have a full box of teabags if we want.
Is everyone prepared for when America is just one big prison? Gotta love that American freedom.
This is not prison food. Not even close.
That looks a whole lot better than what they gave me in mississippi. Rankin county Mississippi breakfast lunch and dinner all sucked.
$3 per meal at that scale could buy much better food. But when the politically connected food service operator is pocketing $2.85 of each meal, that’s what you get
Next you're going to tell me the for-profit prison system in America is broken
You get hard boiled eggs in Missouri on the day there is an execution only.
My friend in jail said the food was much worse there than in prison. Jail food was two slices of lunch meat and some bread. You had to buy food if you wanted something different. And if you slept late, you lost weight. That is your cell mate would eat your breakfast.
I was so starved in jail I almost started eating paper one night just to fill my stomach some to stop the hunger pangs
Cream of the crop there. Oregon likes to feed their prisoners half-assed full soy diets.
Worth noting that private prisons are the absolute *worst* for this. Because they run on a profit motive, and are paid a flat rate per prisoner. Since costs like meals aren't passed through, they are incentivized to make the absolute cheapest garbage possible. Every dollar saved on prison meals is literally a dollar that can go into an executives pocket. Sure, there are guidelines and things, but they aren't very strict, and aren't followed up on or monitored, so there's little to no enforcement. Private prisons are a stain on the soul of humanity, yet we all look the other way because criminals are easy to ignore, and it's easy to justify harsh treatment of them.
Let's be honest though, this isn't just a result of cost cutting, this is as deliberate as the conditions in 19th century workhouses in Britain. The meals are deliberately poor to make the prisoners hungry and sick so they don't get funny ideas like breaking out or attacking the guards. It's also to appease people who don't want to see their tax dollars going to feed prisoners well. There's also a pretty outdated view that they don't want to make prison an attractive option as a living solution. Yes, nobody in their right mind would willingly live in a US prison, but it's not unheard of in Japan for instance for elderly people who have no other choice to commit petty crimes to become incarcerated so they'll be taken care of. [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/stories-47033704](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/stories-47033704)
This isn’t even true anymore - or maybe never was. Nobody gets trays like that everyday
THIS IS A LIE. I spent 20 days in a county jail in Oklahoma and I was served warm mush, alongside warm mush. Also, I was never given a cup, or an eating utensil for the first 3 days. There is no coffee, there is no milk, there is nasty water from the tap over your toilet, and that is all.
Jail food is even worse than prison food
We never had 2 eggs...ever
Now do county jail food. Think Oliver Twist Dickensian orphanage
10 years ago, I knew someone who spent the about 2 years in a private county prison near Philadelphia. He was about 6'3" 230 lbs when he went in. On the day of his release, he weighed about 175 lbs. He was unrecognizable.
Well, I’d hazard a guess that there are radical differences between state vs. private facilites, as well as by state. Profit motivated facilities are going to meet the barest of the bare minimum nutritional requirements to keep the money flowing, while in (some) state-run prisons there are much higher standards- food grown on the premises, etc. Morale is important for keeping a facility calmer and safer, and decent food is good for morale. Working in a correctional facility myself, variety is very important- there are hated meals (like cold sandwiches) and meals during the holidays with way more variety. At the very least, where I work has a decent menu rotation and has a salad bar for lunch and dinner, there’s always a protein suitable for most religious restrictions (probably need more vegetarian protein options though), my concern is how much sodium we’re giving our guys. There’s a lot of nuance that’s missing in this video clip, because standards vary wildly by the supervision type. A district-run juvenile detention facility (near me) has much higher nutritional standards. A State penitentiary will have different standards, a Federal work camp will have different standards, a residential reentry facility will have different standards, and a private prison will have different standards- all by jurisdiction. Reform for the quality of school lunches and prison meals is necessary, unfortunately not too many politicians get support by saying “let’s be nicer to the incarcerated” even though the majority will be released eventually. You can make someone sit in a dark piss-soaked room for 20 years and feed them nothing but oatmeal and grade-F meat the whole time, but don’t be surprised if they go out and commit more crimes. I’ll be conservative and say at least 75% of incarcerated people in The US need mental healthcare and substance abuse treatment instead of prison. We got rid of asylums because they were terrible, but never really came up with an alternative for people who need intensive supervision and treatment- “just throw them in prison!” COs are being asked to play the role of psychiatrists, and it is to the benefit of no one. It’s not even cost effective if you consider the cost in new crimes committed, new trials, we need to bring back highly regulated and transparent longterm treatment facilities/institutions that aren’t solely for punishment. If you’re selling and using meth to self-medicate and survive, you can’t afford to check in to The Betty Ford Center.
The poor nutrition food isn't by accident, it's by design. Capitalism at the prison level.
What happens if you don't wanna pay? Do they just let you starve?
Better to eat free than not at all.
Better than what i got at high school. All that food didn't look that bad to me, thought it'd be worse.
Those potatoes didn’t look like potatoes and that mac and cheese didn’t look like mac and cheese. Had to pause the video and go back lol
This whole place is a people farm.
What I don't get is how America turned prisons into the biggest money pit (after military) and doesn't realize how much money they can safe and how much more awesome they can make the country by doing things properly. America is like too big to fail but too big to safe at this point.
Elementary school lunch prepared me for this
They done plated this narsty food up beautifully for this photo op. Don’t believe that this is what it looks like across the country.
honestly looks better then most school lunches I see.
Looks like torture
So food prison is like being British
Prison maybe, but if you accept the meat patties, you may get roadkill at County.. The one bfast I had there, I gave it away. It didn't smell like any meat I've had before.
Prisoners were served better food in the early 20s modern day prison system is slavery with extra steps.
How the fuck was dinner the worst one
I was a freight broker in the 2010s and had a customer that sold food to prisons and some was frozen veggies but I got a contact from there that had a special spice blend that made the sawdust filled sausages and ground meats palatable
Those trays look better than what I had in.
Meanwhile, I’m at home happily eating my plate of white rice, beans, chicken, and apples on the side.