Eating Behind Bars

A vivid exploration of an unseen food crisis affecting millions of AmericansEating Behind Bars exposes the grim realities of food in U.S. prisons, where hunger, malnourishment, and food waste coexist with dehumanizing mealtime conditions. This disturbing portrait of eating behind bars 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 about mass incarceration and food justice. The result is this landmark book, revealing a crisis of nutrition affecting the health of incarcerated Americans. Grounded in riveting testimonials from formerly incarcerated people and accompanied by compelling photographs and illustrations, Eating Behind Bars documents the scarcity of fresh food in prison and high rates of diet-related disease and illness, often as the result of the race to spend as little as possible. The authors propose innovative solutions including "farm to tray" programs, prison-based farms, and chef-led initiatives to provide healthy, appealing food as a basic human right, challenging the broader system of mass incarceration.

An ethnographer and folklorist, Leslie Soble manages the Food in Prison project at Impact Justice.
Alex Busansky is president and founder at Impact Justice.