Florida Prison Nutrition

[Tonysfriend]

have a friend in Raiford - Union Correctional Institution (Starke FL). Suffering from lack of fruits and fresh veggies. Called the Florida DOC and found that FL Legislature gave Florida Prisons $1.59 a day for food. Was told my the nutritionist that they cannot afford -- AFFORD -- to purchase fresh fruit. The only fruit they get is in a can or in season from their "farm" ... If they are going to lock people away, then they need to properly feed them. also, Canteen prices keep going up and up and up!!!

[NAN425]

Lack of fresh fruit and vegetables is the least of their dietary problems. There's also the diet of constant soy filler instead of meat...low calorie counts...and on...and on...

[positivet]

I just heard from my son that canteen prices went up again, too. It seems like they are feeding them crap so that they end up buying canteen just to eat something edible and then they want to price it astronomically...It feels like they are wanting to really wring every last cent out of the families of the prisoners. Isn't there any kind of agency or group that oversees this kind of stuff?

[Mikesprincess]

Well, they won't give them fruit anyway because they are afraid they will make hooch out of it. I do get concerned about the lack of fruits and veggies, though. Yes, Mike told me some canteen prices went up again! sigh! He is going to send me a list if he can get one. I know I saw on DOC before that there is a limit on the percentage that canteen can go up on prices and it seemed that some things went up quite a bit..... Like it isn't hard enough for us to feed our families out here and now they are jacking us in there again?

[ChihuahuaMom]

My Hubby is at Union. Lack of fruit & veggies is the least of their problems. The kitchen workers don't wash their hands and it's no wonder the frequency of bacterial & viral infections going around.

[callin416]

Lack of good nutritious food is a major problem in all facilities. I found this today and wanted to pass it along: please Google it EXPERTS DENOUNCE HIGH-SOY DIET OF ILLINOIS PRISONERS because I cannot post any URLs

The TVP they are replacing meat with is one of the things I have really been outspoken about. It's dangerous and now there is finally something to prove it. I will be following this lawsuit to see if it helps. Our loved ones might deserve to be put in prison, but they don't deserve to be fed what is basically dog food. I wouldn't feed my dogs this crap, much less my husband. My husband works in the canteen so between what he earns and what I send him, he doesn't eat this stuff. Please read the article about the lawsuit. If your loved one is having these symptoms, y'all might have a case against the DOC.

[TZT4$ure4Life]

My husband is at FSP West Unit which is right near Union in Stark FL..
My husband has had 7 heart attacks and 4 of those in prison, the last one was the worst. My point is this, they saved my husband for this we am most grateful, thankful and Blessed . Hes is suppose to be on a diet for his heart... ????
I asked my husband after the last heart attack to PLEASE just go to chow hall and see what your food would be like to take advantage of the heat diet.. He did......
When he called home.. all he could say to me was that the diet was a joke and that it was worse than the regular diet..
Now why would they spend all this money on saving him or anyone else and not give them the proper food..
Why cant they let these inmates grow their own food and meat? I for one and you can disagree or agree.. I think they feed inmates the way they do .. so they can buy out of the canteen.. more money for DOC...
Thank GOD my husband sister sends him money each month so that I dont have too, and I can use raise our son while he is gone. Thank GOD my husband is a hustler in there and will make a way so that he doesnt have to eat that food...
I swear they would be better off putting in a subway and charging the inmates .. at least it would be healthy...
And why not one in the VP parks??? I sure would rather by subway than the junk they sell....
My husband has learned what days they cook the "good things" and will eat on those days.." Good things being like fried chicken every blue moon, or spaghetti or saugage and rice..

[Jensman]

Mine is in pre work release and when I visit I can brin food that I cook. She craves fresh fruit and veggies. She also craves sea food and beef. I send her a food package from secure pack when ever I can (and yes their prices are crazy). How do we live in a state that produces most of the country's produce and we can't give it to them? Farmers are throwing it away, we give it away to the homeless yet we can't feed our inmates? I don't know if we can't or we won't. Think maybe thts why their health care costs go up. Hey Michell Obama your the big advocate for eating healthy where is she on this issue, for that matter where is the president? The prisoners in GITMO get fed better then our own. Again not a real popular news item unles we make it one.

[NAN425]

Originally Posted by TZT4$ure4Life

Why cant they let these inmates grow their own food and meat?

They do have inmate garden programs at some camps. A large portion of the vegetables that my husband ate while he was at Walton were grown by the inmates there.

Growing their own meat would be crazy...to feed 100,000 inmates every day, you'd need a massive industrial livestock farming operation, and it's way more complex to do that then to just throw some seeds in the ground and wait for the harvest.

[Anjewel]

Nan fldoc had their own cattle when Marty first went in....way back.

[LittleSunshine]

My husband is at rmc main where the state of emergency is hAppening Cuz of transformer ... My husband said the food is crap.. Soggy bread and a slice of meat if that... He has lost 10lbs in 10 days it's bad .. Worst he dealt with so far

[TZT4$ure4Life]

Love the posts here.. eatting is bad for them I know ... Nan I was speaking of the camps that have the land and the room.. each camp grow their own veggies and their own meat..doesnt have to be beef.. chicken and rabbits are easy to grow and look how fast they produce..I know at ACI they do raise cattle not sure if its used for the inmates or sold to the public..
Just so many things that DOC could do to improve the lifes of inmates ..never ending story I am sure...Awesome that some camps are growing veggies those are easy as well... wish they all would at least they would get good veggies instead of the starches they get now..

[mominFL]

"It feels like they are wanting to really wring every last cent out of the families of the prisoners."

You got that right!!

[NAN425]

Originally Posted by TZT4$ure4Life

Awesome that some camps are growing veggies those are easy as well... wish they all would at least they would get good veggies instead of the starches they get now..

Well them growing their own veggies doesn't necessarily change the starch content of the meals...a LOT of what they grew at Walton while my husband was there was potatoes. They are efficient, feed a lot of people a lot of calories per square foot I guess. Plus they store well so they don't have to use them right away when they are ready of course.

They also grew a TON of collard greens. They didn't grow a large variety of stuff. It seemed like they grew large quantities of a couple things that they knew they could produce well.

[NAN425]

Originally Posted by mominFL

"It feels like they are wanting to really wring every last cent out of the families of the prisoners."

You got that right!!

They really aren't trying to make a profit off of us or punish us (although it feels like it at times) - what they are doing is trying to execute classic "cost shifting". They are trying to get the families to bear the costs of the incarceration as much as possible, because of their budget crunch. So they push inmates to the canteen for more and more of their needs so we will pay for it and not them. They start talking about charging for medical care. They are trying to open more work release centers so that as many inmates as are eligible will be where we will take care of more of our loved ones' needs (clothes, food) and they will be paid for the privilege of housing them out of their checks.

We see this in schools these days as well. When I was a kid there was no list of stuff that the kids had to bring the school at the start of the year! Schools supplied their own paper, and crayons, and cleaning supplies! Now, they've cost shifted that stuff onto parents because their budgets are so tight they have to cut corners. It's the same principle as what DOC does with inmates and their families.

[callin416]

Actually, they are making a profit from the families. Everything they sell, whether it be the canteen or the coin-ops, makes a profit for the DOC. They also make a profit when inmates do work in the communities. When the DOC was using MCI for their phone carrier, they were getting over $3M per year in kick-backs. I complained to Tallahassee about the costs being unreasonable (as much as $7.00 per call). The man I spoke to informed me that that money paid for "programs". I asked him why I should have to contribute to their "programs" since 1) my husband has too much time to be eligible for them and 2) the camp he was at had no "programs" and 3) any such "programs" would have subsidized funding through the Federal Department of Education. I got some pretty sheepish replies after that and he admitted that it was true. Everything the DOC does has an angle to make a profit.

Part of the problem is that they've been sued so many times and had so many fiscal losses that privatizing makes perfectly good sense. Privatization will take the burden off of the state AND they can still make a profit from prison work programs. Feeding the inmates with the current standards decreases costs to the state. Unfortunately, in the long term, health costs will rise well over what they think they are saving now. By the time the health care costs hit them, they are hoping to be privatized where CCA will have to absorb those costs. Statistics show that the inmate population is getting older. As the inmates get closer to 50 years of age, their medical costs rise. Not to mention that the current diet increases the amount of inmates being diabetic. I also don't understand why inmates can't get fresh citrus. This IS the Sunshine State with orange groves everywhere.

There's a reason why the United States has only 5% of the world's population but has 25% of the world's inmates. It's called "Big Business". The prison system is a machine, a huge one, and it needs to be fed.

While parole is not on Florida's agenda, the Department of Corrections Parole Division has an annual budget of over $8M. Where is that money going? Since very few inmates get parole, some of that money could be diverted to feeding the inmate population better, but it won't. The fiscal reports are public record; anyone can read them. You'd be surprised what you find.

[lin787]

I told a Warden directly that the inmates are not being fed right, calories too low. I am not expecting a balanced meal 3 times a day, but they are not even close. He told me that the nutritionist makes sure that the meals are correct. I had to explain a couple of times that all soy 3 times a day is dangerous. they water down the orange powder to make it last longer.
I think this is in direct violation of the 8th amendment of our Constitution.

The "essential predicate" is "that a punishment must not by its severity be degrading to human dignity," especially torture.
"A severe punishment that is obviously inflicted in wholly arbitrary fashion."
"A severe punishment that is clearly and totally rejected throughout society."
"A severe punishment that is patently unnecessary."

I would think the words Arbitrary fashion,rejected troughout society and patently unnecessary fits to a T when it comes to food for our inmates.

I have read about the oranges making hooch, ok, but cant they be given an orange and must throw the pealing in the trash infront of one of the guards that are standing around the chow hall yelling at inmates to hurry up? My son said they have 5 minutes to eat. I need to find out when the 5 minutes start and stop.

I think I will be a little trouble maker. All of us would gladly send food, deliever tons of food if we could, but we are not allowed to help at all. Yes, I know some prisons are growing their own food, excellent idea, but the food needs to stay at that prison and not shipped to some other prison unless the situation is really bad there.

[callin416]

There is NO way that the inmates are being fed nutritionally correct meals on $1.59 per day. It can't be done for $1.59 per meal, much less per day. I would love to see the nutritionist's "plate" compared to FDA standards.

Under the information in the Illinois lawsuit, the TVP is considered "cruel and unusual" punishment. Since I can't post the url:

Experts Denounce High Soy Diet of Illinois Prisoners - Weston A Price Foundation
Written by Sally Fallon Morell
Tuesday, June 26 2012 10:11 - Last Updated Tuesday, June 26 2012 13:40
The Weston A. Price Foundation Contact: Kimberly Hartke, Publicist
For Immediate Release 703-860-2711, press@westonaprice.org

EXPERTS DENOUNCE HIGH-SOY DIET OF ILLINOIS PRISONERS Too Much Soy Causes Serious Health Problems, Plaintiffs Claim

Washington, DC, June 26, 2012 -- Plaintiffs in the lawsuit Harris et al. v. Brown, et al., Case No. 3:07-cv-03225 have submitted testimony of four qualified experts confirming the claim that large amounts of soy in the prison diet can cause serious health problems. In 2004, the state of Illinois began using large amounts of soy in prison menus to save money and use less meat.

Sponsored by the Weston A. Price Foundation, a nutrition education non-profit foundation, the lawsuit claims that the soy being fed to the plaintiffs, in the amounts being fed to them, constitutes cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the eighth amendment to the Constitution, as well as a denial of plaintiffs’ liberty in violation of their due process rights under the fourteenth amendment to the Constitution.

Plaintiff health complaints include chronic and painful constipation alternating with debilitating diarrhea, vomiting after eating, sharp pains in the digestive tract, especially after consuming soy, passing out, heart palpitations, rashes, acne, insomnia, panic attacks, depression and symptoms of hypothyroidism, such as low body temperature (feeling cold all the time), brain fog, fatigue, weight gain, frequent infections and thyroid disease.
Public Health Expert Sylvia P. Onusic, PhD, submitted an analysis of prison menus showing that soy protein in prison meals approaches 100 grams per day, four times greater than the amount recommended by the Food and Drug Administration. Soy protein is added in large amounts to meat patties, meat mixes and sauces, and in smaller amounts to almost all baked goods. The soy in the prison food is a deliberate artificial manipulation using processed soy products, manufactured using highly technical process and toxic chemicals
Toxicologist Mike Fitzpatrick, PhD, provided evidence that even 50 grams of soy can cause thyroid problems, including thyroid cancer. Soy contains compounds called phytoestrogens, which depress thyroid function and cause endocrine disruption.

Physician David Brownstein, MD, submitted his opinion that the amount of soy fed to the plaintiffs is, to a reasonable degree of scientific certainty, responsible for causing their health problems, including gastrointestinal distress and bowel dysfunction, vitamin deficiencies (vitamins B12 and D) as well as thyroid disorders. Laboratory analysis expert William Shaw, PhD, noted that soy protein has the highest oxalate level of any known food and that the prisoners are receiving hundreds of milligrams of oxalates per day. According to Shaw, virtually all of the plaintiffs’ health problems can be explained by their high-oxalate diet. The toxicity of oxalates is well established; oxalates can deposit sharp crystals not only in the kidneys, but in virtually every tissue and organ of the body, including joints, heart, blood vessels, teeth, gums, eyes, skin, brain, nerves, thyroid and thymus glands.
Oxalates also block the absorption of many essential minerals, leading to malnutrition.

The defendants have responded by arguing that the Illinois prisoners receive only minimal amounts of soy protein in their diets.

“Presiding judge Harold Baker has stated the importance of scientific and medical testimony in the case,” says Sally Fallon Morell, president of the Weston A. Price Foundation. “We have provided both the science and the medical evidence and look forward to the next steps in this trial.



The state of Michigan already had a similar lawsuit after which TVP was banned for use in prisons. I'm sending this information to my husband because he asked for it. If this lawsuit succeeds, Florida inmates should follow suit (no pun intended).

[NAN425]

Originally Posted by callin416

Actually, they are making a profit from the families. Everything they sell, whether it be the canteen or the coin-ops, makes a profit for the DOC. They also make a profit when inmates do work in the communities. When the DOC was using MCI for their phone carrier, they were getting over $3M per year in kick-backs.

You're misunderstanding what I mean when I use the words "profit" and "cost-shifting". To operate at a profit, an entity (DOC in this case) has to make more money than it takes in. Which is most certainly not the case, no matter how insanely high the canteen and phone prices are. That is why I used the term cost-shifting - what they are doing is by making a profit in the canteen and phone sales that they then shift to the DOC's overall operations - thereby shifting part of the cost of running DOC to families through canteen & phone sales. But DOC AS A WHOLE is not making a profit off of us. DOC does not make more money than they spend overall. They are just making us pay for part of our loved one's incarceration costs every time we talk on the phone or buy from the canteen. It is, in effect, a tax targeted only at a specific population - the loved ones of inmates - which makes its constitutionality debatable at best, if you look at it that way.

Originally Posted by callin416

While parole is not on Florida's agenda, the Department of Corrections Parole Division has an annual budget of over $8M. Where is that money going? Since very few inmates get parole, some of that money could be diverted to feeding the inmate population better, but it won't. The fiscal reports are public record; anyone can read them. You'd be surprised what you find.

The parole board serves several purposes, not just evaluating parole applications for inmates sentenced when parole was still allowed. It also handles clemency applications, parole revocation decisions, and several other responsibilities, and thus has staff and administrators to handle paperwork on all those tasks.

Here's the statistics on the cases it handled in fiscal year 2010-2011:

Conditional Release/Addiction Recovery Cases: 8,095
Parole Revocation Cases: 1,772
Clemency Application Cases: 30,565
Parole Release Cases: 1,403

[callin416]

Cost shifting is profit in the sense that it is money not otherwise spent, therefore not lost or in need of replacement. Taking in a $3M kick-back annually certainly was profit in that sense. As far as Constitutionality of the whole process, it amounts to excessive taxation. The Constitutionality of forcing inmates to eat garbage that is detrimental to their overall health or buy over-priced items from the canteen that are equally detrimental, is the subject at hand. I see many violations to inmates' Constitutional rights.

I understand what the Florida Parole Commission does and I had already seen the statistics. I'm not trying to pick an argument with anyone here. I have two family members that work for the DOC for a combined total of 28 years, and friends with so many more. I studied law and I have a degree in business management. There are better ways to operate the DOC. Many other states run theirs more efficiently and more cost effectively without sacrificing the rights of inmates to do so. My nephew works for the DOC at present, but he also worked for CCA. He's worked Bay CF, Washington CI, Gulf CI and Gulf WC.

I sat many hours in the governor's office in Tallahassee in re my dealings with the DOC. I also have corresponded at length with Bob Graham, when he was a senator, and now Jimmy Patronis.

There is no reason to feed inmates toxic ingredients to save money when they can shave the "pork" off other areas of redundancy. There is no excuse for the high rate of turn-over Florida has with their DOC employees. If you want to know why the guards treat inmates so badly, look at the way the DOC treats them. Their jobs are constantly on the line and so many are being forced out due to Gov Scott's prison closings and threats of privatization.

Almost all of the Region 1 facilities have enough land to have fresh vegetable gardens. Regions 1 and 2 have enough land to facilitate all methods of agriculture including raising their own meat. I readily admit that I know nothing about the other regions. I am sure that they can also carry some part of the burden of feeding inmates fresh food.

It still all amounts to the fact that our loved ones are there to safeguard the public from further damage, not to be mistreated and/or malnourished. They certainly are not there for rehabilitation or preparation to be re-entered into public life once their sentences are over. - But that's another subject . . .

[TZT4$ure4Life]

Calling416.... Thank you for your thoughts, I agree 100% with you. There is so much land in Region 1 ( there are only 2 regions now) but I understand what you meant.. That they could grow more than what they are. I have always and will always say that if not for DOC or Disney Florida would go under....
They talk Parole but how many really get it, and lets face it there honeslty cant be that many more inmates that can get Parole because they did away with it and I am sure the inmates that can get it have already left prison or passed. SO I agree they could redo they whole system if they would.. Closing prisons are not the answer, starving inmates and making them sicker isnt either... Its just a screwed up mess that the higher uppers dont want to deal with.
Meals are just a starting point.. and yes I do believe they make money off the families of the inmates.. I mean how could they not...?? I am not expecting a free ride for my husband, he did the crime and he has to do the time. But I am not sure that they are teaching them anything other to come out and be discourged because there are no jobs, or starving them to create more health issues.. Families suffer because of where the inmates are sent to.. and I was told in that they are building prisons up in North FLa. because the land is cheap.. so why not add some gardens, some cattle, chicken coops and rabbit pens and let the inmates do something postive .. I too believe that FL DOC just wrong. We need to step back and look at how other states are running their prisons.. I man that did something 25 yrs ago is not the same man as he was when he did the crime.. Yet they release no one or pardon anyone or Parole anyone but they sure can starve them....

[TZT4$ure4Life]

Not sure what addiction recovery is but I do know that there are no programs in the DOC that deals with addiction... they spend it all on SOY MEAT that is making them sick!!!!