Change The Tray
The Carceral Nutrition Project is led by people with histories of incarceration who are experienced in public policy and public health. We work with corrections agencies and organizers seeking to improve outcomes in the carceral nutrition space.
Our Mission
Improve nutrition in jails and prisons across the country to effect healthier and more cost-effective outcomes for all stakeholders.
Our Vision
Food in prisons and jails that promotes dignity and opportunity, that heals instead of harms. We envision a transformed carceral food system that intertwines health, sustainability, agency, cultural respect, and job skills training, in federal, state, local, youth, and tribal facilities across the country.
Our Objectives
- To improve the nutrition and health of incarcerated people
- Better food can lead to better public health and reentry outcomes.
- To center food as a source of opportunity
- More choice and vocational training improves reentry success.
- To reduce community health costs
- Jail and prison food is a hidden public health threat to taxpayers.
- To improve public safety and facility safety
- Feeding people decently and treating them with dignity improves work conditions.
- To raise public awareness of the harmful state of jail and prison food
- Carceral nutrition currently harms all stakeholders.
Action
Information | Sharing
- Review of the field, baseline assessment
- State-by-state DOC food grades
- Raise awareness of carceral nutrition’s impact on public health & environment
- Highlight & replicate good practices
- Promote new approaches, eg “food is medicine”
Coalition | Partnerships
Facilitate Community of Practice
Convene stakeholders & food systems partners on local & state levels
Develop industry partnerships in procurement & workforce
Establish farmers market & grower partnerships
Enable in-house cooking
Facility | Programmatic
Evaluate existing food service
Initiate healthier menus
Reform procurement process
Establish nutrition education, culinary, horticulture, vertical farming programs
Align officer & resident food service
Separate commissary & kitchen contracts
Institute healthier commissary choices