The public health implications of prison and jail food
Center for Science in the Public Interest, February 21, 2023: The public health implications of prison and jail food
“Everyone deserves access to healthy and appetizing food, but this ideal is far from reality for many incarcerated people in the United States. In 2020, CSPI’s partner organization Impact Justice published the first national investigation of the food environment in state prisons, finding that, in general, the experience of eating in confinement is profoundly dehumanizing. The same year, I facilitated an expert workgroup on behalf of CSPI that identified no shortage of opportunities to improve food and nutrition in adult and youth correctional facilities.
“In short, the current system prioritizes the lowest cost over the health and dignity of people in custody—states spend between $1.00 and $4.50 per day to feed each person in prison. With these kinds of financial constraints, it is not surprising that correctional facilities often fall short of providing a healthy dietary pattern—for example, with insufficient servings of fruits and vegetables and excessive sodium. Inadequate resources and oversight also contribute to meals that are improperly cooked, contain spoiled food, and are generally unappetizing. The poor quality of the institutional meals leads individuals with sufficient means to rely on the commissary shop for most of their meals, which is hardly an optimal solution: commissaries are notorious for their lack of healthy options, mainly offering expensive, shelf-stable snacks and beverages high in saturated fat, added sugar, and salt. The status quo is also inequitable, as those without financial resources don’t even have the option to choose the unspoiled, tastier commissary offerings.
“CSPI’s work to improve the food environment in correctional facilities advances our vision of ‘a healthy population with reduced impact and burden of preventable diseases and an equitable food system that makes healthy, sustainable food accessible to all.’ The connection between prison food and public health is relatively straightforward. As of 2021, almost 2 million people were incarcerated in prisons, jails, and other detention facilities in the United States. While that number has decreased in the last few years, we still incarcerate a greater proportion of our population than any other country. Incarcerated people are dependent on correctional facilities to meet all of their nutritional needs. Another 4.9 million Americans have a history of incarceration in federal or state prison and relied on the institutional food for an extended period of time. A healthy diet is linked to a lower risk of diabetes, heart disease, some cancers, and other chronic diseases, whereas a poor diet can lead to lower quality of life, premature deaths, and higher healthcare costs over time. As such, the quality of food served in correctional facilities has a meaningful impact on the long-term health of a large segment of the population, especially those with lengthy sentences.”
Additional reading:
Impact Justice, November 2020: Bringing the movement for food justice inside prisons and jails
The Counter, February 1, 2022: Poor food in prison and jails can cause or worsen eating and health problems. And the effects can linger long after release.
The Daily Meal, March 2, 2023: What Prison Food Is Really Like Around The United States
The Marshall Project, July 7, 2015: What’s in a Prison Meal?
