When thinking about what the food trays look like in detention centers, one usually pictures brown bread and beans. This doesn’t leave a lot of room for vitamins, minerals, and other vital nutrients. However, it’s hard to make healthier choices when the options just aren’t there. Wendy Sawyer, a Senior Policy Analyst at the Prison Policy Initiative, commented that, “Besides the menu, the only other choices incarcerated people have are the products available through the commissary, where more than 90% of available products “are very unhealthy, and are categorized as ‘Avoid’ in the [State’s] Healthy Nutrition Guidelines for Vending Machines.” Even the instant oatmeal is the highly sweetened, low fiber variety on the ‘not recommended’ list”

The Northern Kentucky Expanded Food Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) Assistant collaborated with the Chemical Dependency Program in the Campbell County Detention Center to help teach how to make healthier decisions while they are in the detention center and as they transition out of the detention center. The EFNEP assistant taught the Healthy Choices for Every Body curriculum to a group of 10 women who would soon be released. The program was well received as they constantly commented on the changes they were going to make for them and their families. Each new recipe was an opportunity for them to bring something healthy home to their children. Participants commented a lot while we reviewed sugar beverages. After seeing the amount of sugar in one bottle of Mt. Dew, a participant stated, “I will not be spending my commissary money on soda anymore.” The next class, she came in boasting about how much water she was drinking. For the class as a whole, 90% reported to eat more fruit in a day and 60% to eat more vegetables. According to a survey, 40% also reported consuming regular soda less often as a result of the program.

https://www.prisonpolicy.org/blog/2017/03/03/prison-food/