1 00:00:04,240 --> 00:00:07,240 Speaker 1: Hello, and welcome to short stuff, the shortest stuff around. 2 00:00:09,080 --> 00:00:12,840 Speaker 1: I'm Josh, there's Chuck, there's Jerry over there, and uh, 3 00:00:12,960 --> 00:00:14,920 Speaker 1: this is short stuff in case you didn't catch it 4 00:00:14,960 --> 00:00:18,800 Speaker 1: the first time around. Right, let's talk about prison food. Yeah, 5 00:00:18,920 --> 00:00:22,200 Speaker 1: let's so prison food. Saying prison food is sort of 6 00:00:22,239 --> 00:00:25,480 Speaker 1: like a joke, like an airplane meal that someone might 7 00:00:25,600 --> 00:00:29,280 Speaker 1: use casually is to represent really bad food. I think 8 00:00:29,320 --> 00:00:34,040 Speaker 1: prisoners would literally kill for an airplane food a while. 9 00:00:35,040 --> 00:00:37,519 Speaker 1: But there are more than two million people incarcerated in 10 00:00:37,520 --> 00:00:41,159 Speaker 1: the United States, and that's a lot of people to feed. Uh, 11 00:00:41,200 --> 00:00:44,519 Speaker 1: and we're not feeding them very well. And there are 12 00:00:44,600 --> 00:00:48,760 Speaker 1: groups out there that advocates for prisoners who are on 13 00:00:48,800 --> 00:00:50,600 Speaker 1: the case and have been for a while trying to 14 00:00:50,600 --> 00:00:54,360 Speaker 1: get better food to prisoners. Uh. And this woman Loretta Refit, 15 00:00:54,560 --> 00:01:00,279 Speaker 1: who works for she's a researcher for Prison Voice Washington. Um, 16 00:01:00,280 --> 00:01:02,600 Speaker 1: she makes a good point. She's saying, listen, we're not 17 00:01:02,640 --> 00:01:06,240 Speaker 1: saying prisoners don't want fle mignon, they don't want luxury foods. 18 00:01:06,560 --> 00:01:10,679 Speaker 1: They just want food that's food, real food, real food, 19 00:01:10,880 --> 00:01:14,839 Speaker 1: and that also isn't like um, nutritionally deficit or deficient, 20 00:01:15,200 --> 00:01:17,200 Speaker 1: you know. And let's get something out of the way. 21 00:01:17,240 --> 00:01:20,120 Speaker 1: If you're like, well, they're prisoners, Who cares if they 22 00:01:20,160 --> 00:01:23,759 Speaker 1: have tasty food or something like that, or something that's 23 00:01:23,800 --> 00:01:26,360 Speaker 1: not as high in sodium. Who cares? They're in prison. 24 00:01:26,480 --> 00:01:29,200 Speaker 1: They're not supposed to be coddled. Um. There's actually really 25 00:01:29,200 --> 00:01:32,679 Speaker 1: good answer to that, and that is that if we 26 00:01:32,959 --> 00:01:35,199 Speaker 1: if we are taking care of prisoners in a certain 27 00:01:35,200 --> 00:01:37,800 Speaker 1: way in prison, and again there's two million of them 28 00:01:37,800 --> 00:01:41,000 Speaker 1: in in the United States alone, if they're eating terribly 29 00:01:41,200 --> 00:01:44,319 Speaker 1: over the course of years, they're also developing the kinds 30 00:01:44,360 --> 00:01:48,040 Speaker 1: of chronic illnesses that come with eating terribly for years, 31 00:01:48,120 --> 00:01:52,320 Speaker 1: like UM, heart disease and COPD and just about everything 32 00:01:52,360 --> 00:01:55,800 Speaker 1: you can think of diabetes, UM. And then when they 33 00:01:55,840 --> 00:01:59,440 Speaker 1: get out, they need healthcare or they need healthcare while 34 00:01:59,440 --> 00:02:02,320 Speaker 1: they're in there too. And so whether they're on government 35 00:02:02,320 --> 00:02:05,840 Speaker 1: assisted healthcare on the outside or prison healthcare on the inside, 36 00:02:06,160 --> 00:02:08,600 Speaker 1: you the guy who doesn't care whether they get good 37 00:02:08,639 --> 00:02:11,320 Speaker 1: food or not on the inside is paying for that. 38 00:02:11,720 --> 00:02:14,360 Speaker 1: And a really easy way to get around that is 39 00:02:14,440 --> 00:02:17,760 Speaker 1: for them to just be served nutritious food to begin with. 40 00:02:18,120 --> 00:02:22,160 Speaker 1: It's way cheaper than paying for healthcare on the back end. Yeah, 41 00:02:22,200 --> 00:02:24,960 Speaker 1: there was a study done in two thousand twelve that 42 00:02:25,240 --> 00:02:29,000 Speaker 1: reported that sevent inmates and state and federal prisons and 43 00:02:29,160 --> 00:02:34,320 Speaker 1: jails are obese, overweight, obese, or morbidly obese. UM. And 44 00:02:34,360 --> 00:02:37,399 Speaker 1: I guess it is easy to say, like why give 45 00:02:37,440 --> 00:02:40,480 Speaker 1: them good food? They are in prison, we should give 46 00:02:40,520 --> 00:02:43,799 Speaker 1: them gross tasting food. But like you said, it's not. 47 00:02:44,400 --> 00:02:46,080 Speaker 1: It's one of these things like if you think about 48 00:02:46,080 --> 00:02:48,960 Speaker 1: the big picture, if one of your arguments is tax dollars, 49 00:02:48,960 --> 00:02:51,520 Speaker 1: tax dollars, why am I paying for this? You're gonna 50 00:02:51,560 --> 00:02:54,440 Speaker 1: be paying for more down the line, So maybe give 51 00:02:54,480 --> 00:02:57,280 Speaker 1: them some fruits and vegetables every now and then or 52 00:02:57,320 --> 00:03:00,839 Speaker 1: on a daily basis, even like human beings. And I mean, 53 00:03:00,960 --> 00:03:03,519 Speaker 1: if you're talking tax dollars and you're paying for their food, 54 00:03:03,639 --> 00:03:06,920 Speaker 1: Like the amount of money that's spent on prisoners, if 55 00:03:06,960 --> 00:03:09,640 Speaker 1: you look at it overall for the entire nation, I 56 00:03:09,720 --> 00:03:12,440 Speaker 1: can't find that data. By the way, there's no there's 57 00:03:12,440 --> 00:03:14,480 Speaker 1: no data that says this is how much the US 58 00:03:14,440 --> 00:03:17,280 Speaker 1: spends on food for prisoners every year. There's nothing like that. 59 00:03:17,480 --> 00:03:21,280 Speaker 1: It's more by state, even by jurisdiction. But I've seen 60 00:03:21,400 --> 00:03:25,680 Speaker 1: something between a dollar twenty a day to about three 61 00:03:25,720 --> 00:03:30,440 Speaker 1: dollars a day per prisoner. The average American eats on 62 00:03:30,639 --> 00:03:33,960 Speaker 1: about eight dollars and twelve cents a day, So there's 63 00:03:34,000 --> 00:03:37,760 Speaker 1: a very small amount of money being spent on prisoner food, 64 00:03:38,440 --> 00:03:41,080 Speaker 1: which is one problem. But then the second problem that 65 00:03:41,120 --> 00:03:44,720 Speaker 1: seems to be evolving over the years or has evolved recently, 66 00:03:45,160 --> 00:03:48,080 Speaker 1: is there used to be prison kitchens, Like the food 67 00:03:48,160 --> 00:03:52,120 Speaker 1: was prepared there in the prison, and so that meant 68 00:03:52,120 --> 00:03:56,120 Speaker 1: that the prison could kind of cater more toward inmates, 69 00:03:56,680 --> 00:04:00,440 Speaker 1: um than they can now where the food preparation is 70 00:04:00,560 --> 00:04:05,440 Speaker 1: almost exclusively outsourced to companies like Era Mark or in Washington, 71 00:04:05,480 --> 00:04:11,840 Speaker 1: there's one called UMU Corrections Institutions Food uh, and that's 72 00:04:11,880 --> 00:04:14,520 Speaker 1: just a food service. So it's prepared off site, and 73 00:04:14,560 --> 00:04:18,360 Speaker 1: it's just gotten really really bad, Like there's no such 74 00:04:18,360 --> 00:04:21,680 Speaker 1: thing as fresh food anymore. It's all reheated in like 75 00:04:21,720 --> 00:04:24,640 Speaker 1: a tray basically. All right, well, let's come back in 76 00:04:24,640 --> 00:04:26,279 Speaker 1: a minute. We'll talk a little bit more about that 77 00:04:26,360 --> 00:04:29,160 Speaker 1: and some of the other complications of feeding two million 78 00:04:29,279 --> 00:04:50,320 Speaker 1: incarcerated individuals right after this. Alright, so it is tough 79 00:04:50,400 --> 00:04:54,360 Speaker 1: to feed that many people and keep expenses in check. 80 00:04:55,839 --> 00:04:58,080 Speaker 1: I think anyone will admit, you can't just have an 81 00:04:58,080 --> 00:05:02,160 Speaker 1: open check book and just a it's been whatever it takes. UM. 82 00:05:02,160 --> 00:05:04,719 Speaker 1: There are budgets to keep in mind, and it's complicated 83 00:05:04,800 --> 00:05:07,880 Speaker 1: when you think about UM. And this is something I 84 00:05:07,920 --> 00:05:11,520 Speaker 1: don't think many people think about, but dietary needs, dietary 85 00:05:11,560 --> 00:05:17,320 Speaker 1: restrictions UM based on your own body or religious grounds, 86 00:05:17,320 --> 00:05:21,560 Speaker 1: whether it's kosher or halal or gluten free. Like I 87 00:05:21,640 --> 00:05:23,920 Speaker 1: never thought about what if you're gluten or dairy free 88 00:05:23,920 --> 00:05:26,880 Speaker 1: and you're in prison, you probably just go hungry a 89 00:05:26,880 --> 00:05:31,799 Speaker 1: lot or live with consistent intestinal distress, which would really suck, 90 00:05:31,920 --> 00:05:34,719 Speaker 1: you know, like that's that's ah. I saw a quote 91 00:05:34,720 --> 00:05:38,080 Speaker 1: it's like prisons punishment enough, you know, like this doesn't 92 00:05:38,120 --> 00:05:40,600 Speaker 1: need to be heaped on top of it, something like 93 00:05:40,880 --> 00:05:45,400 Speaker 1: persistent intestinal distress. You know. Yeah, I mean it's you're 94 00:05:45,400 --> 00:05:49,960 Speaker 1: certainly not making for UM more obedient prisoners if someone 95 00:05:50,080 --> 00:05:52,400 Speaker 1: is always sick. No, but I did look up. I 96 00:05:52,440 --> 00:05:55,279 Speaker 1: wondered if there if there was a reason that UM 97 00:05:55,520 --> 00:06:00,800 Speaker 1: that prisons deprived inmates nutrition going to lead to keep 98 00:06:00,839 --> 00:06:04,440 Speaker 1: them like docile, or if it has the opposite effect. 99 00:06:04,520 --> 00:06:08,240 Speaker 1: But apparently one of the big UM, one of the 100 00:06:08,240 --> 00:06:10,640 Speaker 1: big problems, at least in Washington. But I would suspect. 101 00:06:10,640 --> 00:06:16,279 Speaker 1: It's probably nationwide. Is a deficiency of protein. There's just 102 00:06:16,320 --> 00:06:19,720 Speaker 1: not enough protein and proteins pretty important. It's one of 103 00:06:19,800 --> 00:06:22,679 Speaker 1: the big ones that you really need. Um. So there's 104 00:06:22,880 --> 00:06:27,000 Speaker 1: less protein. The protein that is typically served to prisoners 105 00:06:27,440 --> 00:06:33,320 Speaker 1: is hyper processed. Um. There's no fresh vegetables or anything 106 00:06:33,360 --> 00:06:36,680 Speaker 1: like that. It's all like pre canned or cooked or 107 00:06:36,760 --> 00:06:41,800 Speaker 1: frozen or something like that. And it's heavy in salt 108 00:06:41,960 --> 00:06:45,200 Speaker 1: and sometimes sugar too. Just basically the worst food you 109 00:06:45,240 --> 00:06:50,400 Speaker 1: could possibly eat, like like junk food made from filler. Yeah. 110 00:06:50,400 --> 00:06:53,840 Speaker 1: And if you are if you do have dietary restrictions 111 00:06:53,839 --> 00:06:56,440 Speaker 1: and that have health implications, like let's say you are 112 00:06:56,480 --> 00:07:00,720 Speaker 1: gluten free or have celiac, um, it will just take 113 00:07:00,800 --> 00:07:03,800 Speaker 1: whatever has gluten off of your trade. They don't say like, well, 114 00:07:03,800 --> 00:07:06,200 Speaker 1: how would you like this instead, and you just get 115 00:07:06,279 --> 00:07:10,680 Speaker 1: less food. Um. That sucks, man, Yeah, it does. There 116 00:07:10,760 --> 00:07:14,400 Speaker 1: was And you talked about how much they're spending Amrrico, 117 00:07:14,480 --> 00:07:19,000 Speaker 1: Pa County, Arizona is very famous for Sheriff Joe and 118 00:07:19,040 --> 00:07:23,240 Speaker 1: all the news he makes. UM and apparently their Thanksgiving meal. Um. 119 00:07:23,240 --> 00:07:25,920 Speaker 1: There's a nonprofit journalism group called the Marshall Project that 120 00:07:25,960 --> 00:07:29,960 Speaker 1: works on criminal justice issues. They did some investigating and 121 00:07:29,960 --> 00:07:33,080 Speaker 1: found that the Thanksgiving meal in Merrico, PA County cost 122 00:07:33,160 --> 00:07:37,239 Speaker 1: fifty six cents per person. It was a cup of carrots, 123 00:07:37,320 --> 00:07:40,680 Speaker 1: a cup of mashed potatoes, and then five ounces of 124 00:07:41,000 --> 00:07:47,320 Speaker 1: turkey soil, sorry, turkey soy casserole. Turkey soil. Probably not 125 00:07:47,440 --> 00:07:50,800 Speaker 1: too far off, I agree. One of the people who 126 00:07:50,920 --> 00:07:55,920 Speaker 1: are with one of the prison projects said, if you 127 00:07:55,960 --> 00:07:59,400 Speaker 1: look at a can of organic cat food and the 128 00:07:59,520 --> 00:08:02,760 Speaker 1: label of the ingredients, and you compare it to a 129 00:08:02,760 --> 00:08:05,840 Speaker 1: lot of the food that served in prisons, the organic 130 00:08:05,880 --> 00:08:09,600 Speaker 1: cat food is preferable to the prison food, which is 131 00:08:09,960 --> 00:08:13,400 Speaker 1: fairly shameful. But what about the honey buns. There's the 132 00:08:13,440 --> 00:08:16,120 Speaker 1: honey buns. I also saw a recent one about a 133 00:08:16,240 --> 00:08:20,440 Speaker 1: type of potato chip that is, um apparently so good 134 00:08:20,880 --> 00:08:24,200 Speaker 1: that prisoners go crazy after they get out of prison 135 00:08:24,280 --> 00:08:26,800 Speaker 1: because you can't find it outside of prison. It's made 136 00:08:26,800 --> 00:08:31,920 Speaker 1: specifically for prisons. It's called the Whole Shebangs and um. 137 00:08:31,960 --> 00:08:34,800 Speaker 1: This company has caught on recently that people really want 138 00:08:34,920 --> 00:08:36,680 Speaker 1: this outside of prison, so now they sell it on 139 00:08:36,720 --> 00:08:41,480 Speaker 1: their website as well. But it's really expensive on their website. Um, 140 00:08:41,559 --> 00:08:44,760 Speaker 1: but it's just supposedly the greatest potato chips you can 141 00:08:44,800 --> 00:08:47,160 Speaker 1: you can never have. It's a combination of salt and 142 00:08:47,240 --> 00:08:50,520 Speaker 1: vinegar and barbecue flavor. Well, but again, I mean I 143 00:08:50,559 --> 00:08:53,199 Speaker 1: made the if you haven't heard Our Prisons episode, that's 144 00:08:53,240 --> 00:08:56,199 Speaker 1: the reference to honey buns. Apparently that's a big that 145 00:08:56,280 --> 00:08:59,720 Speaker 1: have a lot of trade value. But um, jokes aside, 146 00:09:00,000 --> 00:09:02,520 Speaker 1: any buns and even the greatest potato chips ever still 147 00:09:02,600 --> 00:09:07,280 Speaker 1: junk food. You know, Yeah, yeah, honey buns and greatest 148 00:09:07,280 --> 00:09:11,839 Speaker 1: potato chips ever definitely still do qualify as junk food. Agreed. Uh, 149 00:09:11,880 --> 00:09:14,480 Speaker 1: And again you know it's uh. And I know this 150 00:09:14,559 --> 00:09:17,920 Speaker 1: is a divisive topic about how people treat prisoners. There 151 00:09:17,920 --> 00:09:21,000 Speaker 1: are a lot of people think that they are pampered 152 00:09:21,000 --> 00:09:22,800 Speaker 1: and aren't you know they should all be in hard 153 00:09:22,880 --> 00:09:25,920 Speaker 1: labor camps eating junk food. But again, if you really 154 00:09:25,960 --> 00:09:28,360 Speaker 1: look at the big picture, and if you're worried about 155 00:09:28,400 --> 00:09:31,320 Speaker 1: your tax dollars and where they're going, Um, you're spending 156 00:09:31,360 --> 00:09:34,360 Speaker 1: a lot more on healthcare by feeding them bad food 157 00:09:34,679 --> 00:09:38,120 Speaker 1: than just giving them some. And again, they're not asking 158 00:09:38,120 --> 00:09:41,760 Speaker 1: for filet mignon, but fruits and vegetables, real proteins that 159 00:09:42,000 --> 00:09:45,560 Speaker 1: isn't just like a heaping of beans. Yeah, just to 160 00:09:45,600 --> 00:09:48,440 Speaker 1: put in real numbers. The Prison Policy Initiative, which is 161 00:09:48,440 --> 00:09:51,160 Speaker 1: a watchdog group, they did a study and they found 162 00:09:51,200 --> 00:09:56,880 Speaker 1: that correctional facilities spend about six times more on healthcare 163 00:09:57,120 --> 00:09:59,640 Speaker 1: than they do on food. And again, if you just 164 00:09:59,760 --> 00:10:02,719 Speaker 1: raise is the quality of food up, it would definitely 165 00:10:02,720 --> 00:10:06,600 Speaker 1: not be six times more, you know, I do know. Yeah, 166 00:10:07,000 --> 00:10:09,720 Speaker 1: you got anything else for this episode of short stuff, Chuck, 167 00:10:10,200 --> 00:10:12,240 Speaker 1: I got nothing else. I'm just gonna go sit down 168 00:10:12,240 --> 00:10:17,680 Speaker 1: and have some turkey ends and soil, turkey soil protein. Yeah. 169 00:10:17,679 --> 00:10:20,120 Speaker 1: Turkey ends was one of the ingredients in Turkey Alla King, 170 00:10:20,160 --> 00:10:21,880 Speaker 1: which I tried to look up what that was, and 171 00:10:21,920 --> 00:10:25,760 Speaker 1: the only thing I could find that wasn't you know 172 00:10:26,520 --> 00:10:31,280 Speaker 1: the country of turkey ends, blank um, was that it's 173 00:10:31,800 --> 00:10:35,840 Speaker 1: the ends of a turkey roll, which in and of 174 00:10:35,880 --> 00:10:38,920 Speaker 1: itself doesn't sound like much of a turkey anyway. Although 175 00:10:38,920 --> 00:10:41,600 Speaker 1: I can't tell you a turkey roll is really good, 176 00:10:41,800 --> 00:10:46,320 Speaker 1: is it? Oh? Yeah? The one they come they're super frozen, 177 00:10:46,559 --> 00:10:50,600 Speaker 1: solid as a brick in a foil pan, and you 178 00:10:50,640 --> 00:10:53,240 Speaker 1: put the whole thing in the oven for like three hours. 179 00:10:53,640 --> 00:10:58,880 Speaker 1: But when it comes out, buddy, salty, I bet it's 180 00:10:58,960 --> 00:11:01,760 Speaker 1: it's tasty, though you shouldn't need them very often. As 181 00:11:01,760 --> 00:11:03,400 Speaker 1: a matter of fact that I should probably not endorse 182 00:11:03,720 --> 00:11:07,360 Speaker 1: it at all. Well, at any rate. That's the end 183 00:11:07,400 --> 00:11:09,880 Speaker 1: of this short stuff. Hope it changed your mind about 184 00:11:09,920 --> 00:11:17,000 Speaker 1: things until next time. Short Stuff out. Stuff you Should 185 00:11:17,040 --> 00:11:19,720 Speaker 1: Know is a production of I Heeart Radios How Stuff Works. 186 00:11:19,760 --> 00:11:22,120 Speaker 1: For more podcasts for my Heart Radio, visit the iHeart 187 00:11:22,160 --> 00:11:24,840 Speaker 1: Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your 188 00:11:24,880 --> 00:11:25,560 Speaker 1: favorite shows.