Eating Behind Bars

A 2026 James Beard Foundation Book Award Nominee in Food Issues and Advocacy

Prisons 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 about mass incarceration and food justice. This landmark book digs deeper, revealing a systemic drive to cut costs at the expense of health and decency. It is also a story of resistance and hope, chronicling how incarcerated people and their allies are fighting back, as well as exploring “farm to tray” programs, chef-led initiatives, and other ways to make food in prison a source of healing and bring dignity back to the table.