Eating Behind Bars: Ending the Hidden Punishment of Food in Prison

A vivid exploration of the food crisis affecting millions of incarcerated Americans, Eating Behind Bars sheds new light on the power-and peril-of what’s on our plates “This eye-opening book will convince you that everyone-absolutely everyone-is deserving of nourishing food that affirms their humanity and dignity.”-José Andrés, chef and humanitarianPrisons and jails are America’s hidden “food deserts,” where hunger and malnourishment coexist with shocking levels of food waste because much of what is served is so awful it ends up in the trash.Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are tense and humiliating when incarcerated people are forced to eat in silence, finish meals within minutes, and disciplined with food deliberately worse than the standard fare. This disturbing portrait came to light in 2020 when the nonprofit Impact Justice released the first-ever national examination of food in prison, catapulting the issue from the margins of prison litigation to the center of national conversations