Prison blues: States slimming down inmate meals

[cali]

ATLANTA (AP) - The recession is hitting home for inmates, too: Some cash-strapped states are taking aim at prison menus.

Georgia prisoners already didn't get lunch on the weekends, and the Department of Corrections recently eliminated the midday meal on Fridays, too. Ohio may drop weekend breakfasts and offer brunch instead. Other states are cutting back on milk and fresh fruit.

Officials say prisoners are still getting enough calories, but family members and critics say the changes could make prisoners irritable and food a valuable commodity, increasing the possibility of violence.

In Georgia, inmates are still getting the same number of daily calories: 2,800 for men and 2,300 for women. The portions at breakfast and dinner are bigger on days only two meals are served.

Almost 5 percent of the state's 58,295 prisoners still get three meals every day because they are diabetic, pregnant or have other special health needs.
Prison blues: States slimming down inmate meals
Barbara Helie, whose 25-year-old son Nicholas is serving time for armed robbery in Valdosta State Prison, said he would go hungry without the roughly $60 a week she puts into his account to buy instant soups, cheese, beef sticks and other snacks at the prison commissary.

"I don't know how the guys who don't have someone on the outside helping out handle it," Helie said. "Food has been an ongoing issue for him ... He's hungry a lot."

Georgia's fast-growing prison system - the fifth-largest in the nation - has been hit hard by the same budget woes plaguing other states. For the current fiscal year, the state has slashed almost 10 percent from the state Department of Corrections' $1.1 billion budget.

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http://apnews.myway.com/article/20090605/D98KCH0G0.html

[tabbycat31]

1. what they should do is set up gardens on prison property

and use the garden produce to feed the inmates. It would give jobs to the less violent ones too.

[sandnsea]

2. The non-violent ones shouldn't be in there

How about that for cutting back prison costs.

[tabbycat31]

9. unfortunately some non-violent criminals need to be in prison

I do support alternative punishments, but I think that white collar criminals like Bernie Madoff and the late Ken Lay deserve to be behind bars.

[sandnsea]

11. I think they can be on permanent house arrest

in a house the government chooses, and pay for their rent and incarceration themselves.

[sweetladybug]

4. That sounds like a good idea to me also.

I put out a small garden each year to save money on groceries. So why cant the prisoners do the same?

[hedgehog]

3. It doesn't take much research.....

Three killed in Guatemalan prison riot over food
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N26406933.htm

Pictured: Rioting inmates set jail ablaze after protest over food at remote prison
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1137493/Pictured-Rioting-inmates-set-jail-ablaze-protest-food-remote-prison.html



Prison riot 'caused by food row'
Damage at Lincoln Prison
Damage put at £2.75m was caused during the 2002 riot
A prison riot that caused almost £3m in damage and left one inmate dead was sparked by a row over sandwiches, Lincoln Crown Court heard.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/lincolnshire/4216421.stm

[XemaSab]

5. I'm borderline hypoglycemic

and if I had to go from 9 until 6 with no food, someone would get shanked.

Even a small meal like a sandwich and a piece of fruit, or a bowl of soup and toast would be better than nothing. :(

[Obamanaut]

6. Would 'borderline hypoglycemic' count as a special health need,

thus qualifying one for three meals.

Don't know about all prison systems, but the one where I worked, which was typical for the state, gives a snack - usually a sandwich and a piece of fruit - at the evening meal for diabetics to take back to the dorms with them (this is in addition to the evening meal.)

[RebelOne]

7. Local news here in Atlanta said that this could lead

to uprisings or law suits.

[Obamanaut]

8. Many inmates will use the canteen items they buy from their accounts

(which are fed by relatives, friends, and their 'marks' in various religious prison outreach ministries) as money in various gambling activities.

note: canteen = prison commissary

[NightWatcher]

10. stop wasting money incarcerating marijuana users and feed the others properly

I would be launching lawsuits if I were prisoner advocacy attorney.

You cant just not feed them.