Yesterday's article about a prisoner lawsuit in Chicago about inmate food got me thinking about the food in the McHenry County Jail. Fortunately, I haven't had the "opportunity" to taste the "cuisine" there, but I'm starting to hear that even the rats might turning up their noses at it.
You can read about the Chicago lawsuit against the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) here. I'm sure there is more in the Chicago papers. There, the prisoners are complaining about the amount of soy products in their food.
From that article, "The Illinois plaintiffs say they had up to 100 grams of soy protein per day in their prison diet, though the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recommends no more than 25 grams.As a result, the plaintiffs say, they suffered maladies ranging from thyroid disorders and allergic reactions to digestive distress and weakened immune systems"
Could the food served at the McHenry County Jail be related to the number of serious ailments and hospitalizations of McHenry County Jail inmates? What happens when an inmate complains of a stomach ache or a pain in his side. Could it be appendicitis?
Nahh, just take a couple of Tums or maybe Ibuprofen.
Have two inmates suffered burst appendixes recently? Who pays for that? The County? You?
I've heard the breakfasts described as "slop".
Just exactly what is the diet provided to inmates and detainees? The calorie count can be held up high with a little peanut butter on the side. But what about the overall nutritional value of the meals? Is there a Federal or a State standard? Well, probably IDOC shouldn't be asked, since the state inmates are suing over the soy levels.
Why is fiber in diet important?
My guess there is plenty of money already available to feed the inmates. What happens when you feed them slop? They get unhappy. What happens when inmates get unhappy (unnecessarily)? The danger level for guards and inmates themselves goes way up.
What's cheaper? A couple of more dollars a day for food per inmate, or putting down unrest (or a riot) with injuries and fatalities and resulting lawsuits?
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6 comments:
I remember years ago on a tour of Alcatraz learning that inmates in solitary were given their food as a drink, blended with beet juice.
MBlue, thanks for your comment.
As I wrote the article, I thought of the sign at Sheriff Joe Arpaio's jail: "If you don't like it here, don't come back."
Inmates don't need steak, like the prisoners in Colorado demanded back in the 1970s. But I think it's possibly to feed them properly.
There should be no glory in paying a food service big dollars and then seeing their profits because they skimp on food costs so the management can get a bonus.
Maybe the McHenry Dept. of Health should look into the diet of the prisoners and see if it meets the standards of (if there is a standard) of the Federal Govenment's Dept. of Prisons. Just a thought.
I am not so concerned with what they serve in the lockup.
I think that quote..."If you don't like it don't come back" says it all.
They are not supposed to like it.
But here's the question. What if the food being served is nutritionally inadequate and leads to long-lasting health problems or even to early hospitalization; say, at County expense?
A local religious group tried to donate a commercial rice cooker to the MCSD Jail, so that a large part of the jail population wanting rice could have it. What's cheaper than rice; right?
The Jail's response? No!
I see your point Gus but I guess I am more concerned with the lack of nutrician in our schools and senior care facilities than the jail.
Half of those in lock up do not deserve anything better than bread and water in my opinion.
But I do understand that one is supposed to be innocent until proven guilty.
As for rice or any other starch they are the staples of a cheap diet. I don't understand the no to a rice cooker other then to just be disagreeable.
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