They also move food to be used for lunch from the freezer to the refrigerator. They eat and leave to prepare for their trip. Inmates make their way through the kitchen serving line and eat in the dining hall. The 24 inmates in Polk's kitchen prepare more than 1,000 meals each day for the prison's 350 inmates. They work eight hour shifts that overlap.
Several inmates work split shifts to meet the demands of the meal-time rush.
Others make 70 cents a day. The inmates are supervised by five correction food service officers who make sure sanitary procedures and food preparation guidelines are followed. They're taught to run an efficient, clean kitchen and to cook and bake from scratch for large numbers of people. They develop food service inventory and warehousing skills. They also learn to maintain and repair kitchen equipment.