Jail and prison food has a well-deserved reputation of being some of the worst. If that isn’t bad enough, most meals are on a 14-day rotation, meaning the menu resets and repeats about every two weeks. Of course, this can change from facility to facility and based on food availability.
However, there are a few options besides the normal meal plan, allowing you to change diets. Typically, meal plans fall under one of two categories – “Optional” diets and “Medical” diets. Optional diets are ones that anyone can request to be put on. While a medical diet is a diet specifically ordered by someone on the medical staff as determined based on need.
The optional meals can typically be requested through a case manager and/or form that can be submitted in the housing unit. At the Montgomery County Correctional Facility (Boyds, MD) and at the Montgomery County Detention Center (Rockville, MD) , the “blue slip” form has a section on it to request a change in the meal plan (for only the Optional meals). Once submitted it can take anywhere from 1-2 weeks for the approval (Case Manager and Kitchen) and for the meal plan to change. As a reminder, the only meals that can be requested this way are the “Optional” diets (listed below).
If someone needs a special medical diet, a medical slip is normally submitted to meet with a nurse to discuss the medical condition that would require a diet change (low sodium, allergy, etc.). In some cases of pre-existing conditions this may be addressed during the intake process. After the meeting with the medical staff, assuming the diet change is approved, it can take 1-2 weeks to start receiving the new diet.
Most inmates are on the normal meal plan – 3 trays a day (breakfast, lunch, and dinner). Typically these diets are high in sugar and carbs (a normal diet may include 5-6 pieces of bread per day). Below is an overview of the “Optional” diet plans and some sample medical diets available.
Optional diet plans include:
- Vegetarian – includes milk and cheese products, just no meat/fish
- Vegan – completely dairy free (no meat, milk, cheese, or egg)
- Kosher/Muslim diet
Medical Diet (examples)
- High protein/High-calorie
- Cardiac
- Low salt
- Gluten-free
- Allergy (i.e. fish allergy, nut allergy, etc.)
A popular alternative is the vegetarian or the religious diet (Kosher/Muslim). Before Covid (pre-2020), to request a change to the religious diet required approval from the Chaplain. However, in some facilities, Covid appears to have made it easier to now request the religious diet (Kosher/Muslim) as the only requirement is the inmate’s own acknowledgement that they are the religion they say they are. The religious diets are typically known in jails/prisons to be some of the best food available, including salads, fresh fruit, and pre-packaged frozen dinners (lasagna, etc.). Sample foods for some of the plans are listed below:
Normal meal
- Breakfast – hard boiled egg, grits, milk, banana, bread
- Lunch – hamburger with bun, lettuce & tomato, corn, pineapple, white milk
- Dinner – 5 chicken nuggets, baked potato, collared greens, bread, vanilla ice cream, fruit punch
- Note: Vegetarian meal is same as normal but with meat replaced with non-meat product (such as veggie burger instead of a hamburger)
Vegan meal
- Breakfast – grits, veggie sausage, peaches, toast and jelly, protein mix (non-milk)
- Lunch – peanut butter & jelly sandwich, carrots, corn, pear, protein mix (non-milk)
- Dinner – beans, rice, fruit salad, white bread, orange sherbet, lemonade
Kosher meal
- Breakfast – pre-packaged cereal, bread with jelly, orange, white milk
- Lunch – pre-packaged beef stew, salad with dressing, pear, white milk
- Dinner – pre-packaged lasagna, salad with dressing, orange, bread with jelly, pre-packaged chocolate cookie, lemonade
Whether voluntary changes or due to diet restrictions, it’s important to know and understand the process on how to change meal plans when you are incarcerated. Correctional officers often have a limited knowledge on how to request changes and can provide conflicting (and incorrect) information.
It’s important to remember that the meals available, how much food is provided, the process to get special diets – all vary from county to county and state to state. To learn more about food in jail and prisons throughout the United States, check out this article from The Marshall Project – https://www.themarshallproject.org/2015/07/07/what-s-in-a-prison-meal
If you have a loved one who is incarcerated and need help navigating the system, give us a call for a free consultation.