A new book has laid bare the grim reality of food served to millions of incarcerated people across the United States, describing meals that are not only unpalatable but also unhealthy and potentially dangerous. Titled Eating Behind Bars, the book details how correctional institutions use food as a means of punishment, with reports of mystery meat, maggot-infested produce, and spoiled milk.
Author Leslie Soble, an ethnographer and folklorist who manages the Food in Prison Project at Impact Justice, documents the widespread consumption of ultra-processed, carb-heavy foods that lack nutritional value. The book is based on surveys, interviews, and focus groups with hundreds of formerly incarcerated individuals and their families, as well as testimony from officials and activists. It reveals conditions such as roaches and rats in kitchens, undercooked chicken, and guard dogs receiving better meals than inmates.
Soble argues that the prison food crisis has far-reaching implications beyond the prison walls. It constitutes a public health crisis, with each year behind bars estimated to reduce life expectancy by two years. It is also a labour rights issue, as incarcerated people earn meagre wages for running the kitchens. Additionally, an estimated 300,000 tonnes of food waste are generated annually in US correctional facilities as prisoners reject the unpalatable offerings.
The book, co-written with Alex Busansky and Aishatu R Yusuf, presents a compelling indictment of the criminal justice system, challenging the notion that improving prison food is merely a liberal desire for gourmet meals. Instead, it frames the issue as one of basic human dignity and systemic reform.
