The prisoner said his food was worse than dog food. The photos showed food being served on plastic yellow plates, one was of very soggy chips and indefinable meat I think, and another is of soggy pizza next to beans and sauce, with chips underneath. None look very appetizing and were obviously just thrown onto the plates by disinterested prison staff.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Justice said all meals served to prisoners meet nutritional guidelines. They may well do but food also needs to be presented well and taste good for it to meet any sort of standards and encourage prisoners to eat healthily. A 2016 HMP Risley inspection report stated: “There was a reasonable choice of meals and the food we sampled was good.

The `prison Service said it offers all prisoners fruit and vegetables as part of a healthy three meal a day program.

The average prison spends a little over £2.00 a day on each prisoner. Public Health England suggests that providing a balanced diet costs £5.99 per person, per day. So understandably it is very difficult for prisons to offer the best cuisine available on £2.00. A 2016 report on the state of food in British prisons found, that due to the small budget and lack of nutritional standards for meals in prison, meals were often of very low quality. And many prisoners are dissatisfied with the food offered.

The report also criticised portion sizes, calling out the breakfast packs as “inadequate on their own” and noting that many prisons run out of food “on a regular basis.”

Youth offending Institutions get at least double this budget to try to maintain good nutritional standards for young people to improve their health and well being.

Just 29 percent of prisoners describe their meals as “good” or “very good,” with one inmate branding them as “half cooked and not edible.” Another said: “There’s not a good variety of fruit and veg at all. No greens in veg. No oranges, etc. We get apples only.”

The World Health Organization (WHO) says food “not only affects physical and mental health, but is also key to an inmate’s successful rehabilitation and resettlement upon release”.

The WHO believes adequate nutrition should be considered one of prisoners’ basic human rights, especially as many have poor health. Healthy, nutritious meals enable prisoners to take their medication properly and prevent the development of life-threatening infections such as HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis. Also, vulnerable population groups in prisons – such as pregnant and breastfeeding women, substance users, teenagers and elderly people – have specific dietary requirements.

Poor nutrition can impact on concentration and learning and may result in episodes of violent or aggressive behaviour. In prison, a bad diet can also contribute to increased rates of poor mental and physical health compared with the general population.

HM Inspectorate of Prison’s 2016 report Life in Prison: Food report found that the low quality of food and small portion sizes led to frustration and anger among prisoners. Last year, an inmate at HMP Northumberland became so angry after being served a cold meal that he staged a protest on a high railing for several hours, forcing prison staff to call a tactical response unit.

A further problem is that often prisoners are not able to eat communally and have to eat in the same space as they sleep and go to the toilet. This is due to staffing shortages or an absence of communal dining facilities, the report concluded.

–

Usual regimes

Prisoners get three meals a day, often from a four week rolling menu, they can chose what they eat from several options including halal and vegetarian food. There is fruit and vegetables offered so sometimes it is really up to the prisoner to select his diet carefully.

In all English prisons each prisoner receives a breakfast pack that is issued the evening before for use the next morning.  This includes breakfast cereal, milk, tea bags, coffee whitener, sugar, brown or white bread, jam and margarine or butter type spread.  They will also receive a weekly allowance of teabags and sugar to make themselves a cup of tea whenever they want to.  Each cell will have its own kettle, or at least a boiler on each landing for the use of all prisoners.

Lunch is a sandwich, wrap, or portion of pasta, served with fruit, crisps, or biscuits, followed by dinner of curry, pie, or baked fish.