A new book, Eating Behind Bars, reveals the disturbing reality of food in US prisons, where inmates are routinely served unhealthy, tasteless, or inedible meals. Author Leslie Soble, an ethnographer and folklorist, documents how correctional institutions use food to further punish incarcerated people, describing roaches, rats, rotten meat, and meals so poor that guard dogs are fed better.
The book, co-written with Impact Justice colleagues Alex Busansky and Aishatu R Yusuf, is based on surveys of hundreds of formerly incarcerated people, in-depth interviews, and testimony from officials. It details what Soble calls 'gastronomic cruelty' and 'culinary malpractice', where inmates subsist on carb-heavy, ultra-processed foods with portions 'just enough to keep you alive'. Examples include 'mystery meat', sour macaroni, undercooked chicken, spoiled milk, and maggot-infested produce.
Soble argues the prison food crisis has widespread implications beyond a niche issue. It is a public health crisis, with estimates suggesting each year behind bars reduces life expectancy by two years. It is also a labour rights issue, as incarcerated people earn pennies per hour running kitchens, barely enough to buy canteen snacks. Additionally, US correctional facilities create an estimated 300,000 tons of food waste annually as inmates reject unpalatable offerings.
The book highlights how food is used as punishment, with meals designed to keep people alive but not nourish them. Typical diets are high in refined carbohydrates, sugar, and salt, and low in fresh produce and quality protein. Inmates report finding contaminants like rat tails, roaches, and metal in their food, or receiving curdled milk. Soble calls for systemic reforms to transform food systems behind bars.
