Prison foodservice directors across the country face similar challenges, as inmate populations and budget constraints stretch the system to its limits. The challenges are daunting. Within that total, prison foodservice managers are expected to prepare meals that meet USDA dietary guidelines every day. The nation's state and federal prison population grew by almost 60,000 in 1998, to 1.3 million inmates, according to the Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics. Much of prison food's bad reputation stems not so much from a lack of quality as from the perceptions of its chief customers and their eating habits before entering the system.
Inmates are street-food eaters.
With their fast-food days behind them for a while, many inmates undergo culinary culture shock. Prison menus try to appeal to a broad spectrum of tastes while still reflecting local preferences. The Colorado DOC dinner lineup for one week, for example, includes baked chicken and parslied potatoes, green chile burritos, spaghetti with meat sauce, chopped steak and gravy, Hungarian goulash over noodles, barbecued chicken and rice, and submarine sandwiches with turkey bologna and salami. But even good ingredients can take a bad turn in the wrong hands. So facilities such as Delta put in place practices similar to those in other noncommercial foodservice operation.