Walla Walla Union-Bulletin
A state agency recently asked Washington State Penitentiary inmates what they thought of their food.
They got back a bellyful of replies.
As part of the response to a hunger strike at the prison last year, the Office of Corrections performed a survey of inmates in January. Questionnaires were distributed to prisoners throughout the institution, and 1,627 were returned, resulting in a 47-page report.
Inmates were asked six questions, with the first two being to list their three favorite items on the Correctional Industries menu, followed by their three least favorite foods. The next two questions asked about their No.1 food concern and what one menu improvement suggestion they would make.
The last two questions were, “What would you like to see more of on the menu?” and “Which nutrition related topics would you like to learn more about?”
According to the report’s executive summary, the survey showed the three areas of greatest importance to prisoners are:
That meal portion sizes are increased, made consistent, and not watered down. “The vast majority of survey respondents report regularly feeling hungry after some meals, most especially after lunch. Lunch portion sizes are reported to have been reduced since hot breakfasts were reinstated in 2018,” the report said.
That Correctional Industries should make adjustments to its food reheating protocols, which are reported to render many meal items hard, dry, and inedible.
That Correctional Industries provide more protein in meals, and that this protein come from unprocessed meat, egg and dairy sources.
Secondary areas of concern were the quality of food ingredients, especially for freshness; provision of healthier, less-processed foods; more variety in meals and meal components; improved recipes and flavor; and more effective monitoring of prison kitchen staff to ensure safety and sanitation protocols are followed.
The 2018 hunger strike started on April 1 and was declared ended on April 6. According to prison officials, about 1,315 of the penitentiary’s 2,439 inmates participated in the strike. A second hunger strike took place in February 2019 at Coyote Ridge Correctional Center in Connell.
According to the report, changes since the WSP food strike have included introducing hot breakfasts in the spring and summer of 2018 to replace the prepackaged “breakfast boats” often given to inmates in the evening for consumption the following morning. However, the report noted, “those eating some mainline alternative meals continued to receive cold breakfasts.”
