University of Arizona doctoral student, Michael Gibson-Light conducted a study in which he interviewed 50 inmates about the food situation at their facility. He found that ramen is quickly becoming more valuable than cigarettes, and that a single package is worth $5 when bartered.
Gibson-Light's study highlights the lack of regulation in prison food programs. Due to lack of funding, according to the study, correctional facilities have performed cost-cutting measures to reflect positively on budgets. However, it is the inmates who are left at the mercy of the company or firm sending the food into prisons, which is unhealthy and reduced quality.
The Guardian reported that inmates were getting less food, that was equally unhealthy and the scheduled meals, “went from receiving three hot meals a day to two hot meals and one cold lunch during the week, and only two meals for the whole day on the weekend.”
“That change was part of a cost-cutting measure,” Gibson-Light said in an interview with The Guardian.
This cost-cutting measure resulted in the malnourishment of inmates, who required more calories to get through their days. Hence, the spike in the popularity of ramen noodles between inmates.
Gibson Light also said a correctional officer at the prison he was studying told him that he [correctional officer] once examined the food in the kitchen and found a box that contained “nasty looking full chickens” that was boldly marked several times with the words “not for human consumption,” according to the Guardian.
The story gets even more disturbing, because fights sometimes break out over ramen, and inmates have even died or been seriously injured because of this. It seems that prisoners are having to take matters into their own hands to fight against the malnourishment caused by the cost-cutting measures that have led to poor quality food. This is truly terrifying!
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