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VT. Supeme Ct to Hear Arguments in Prison Food Case

By Jeralyn

Arguments in Inmates vs. Nutraloaf (not the real case name but the court's website is down and I can't find the real one)will be heard tomorrow by the Vermont Supreme Court. It's a class action case brought by inmates to halt the practice of feeding nutraloaf as punishment to prisoners who misbehave.

When shooting suspect Christopher Williams acted up in prison, he was given nutraloaf — a mixture of cubed whole wheat bread, nondairy cheese, raw carrots, spinach, seedless raisins, beans, vegetable oil, tomato paste, powdered milk and dehydrated potato flakes. Prison officials call it a complete meal. Inmates say it's so awful they'd rather go hungry.

Here's a recipe for Nutraloaf: [more]

6 slices whole wheat bread, finely chopped
4 ounces imitation cheddar cheese, finely grated
4 ounces raw carrots, finely grated
12 ounces spinach, canned, drained
2 cups dried Great Northern Beans, soaked,
cooked and drained
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
6 ounces potato flakes, dehydrated
6 ounces tomato paste
4 ounces raisins

It makes three loaves.

From an earlier post of mine on the topic:

Some say it's worse than solitary confinement. An inmate in Illinois sued over the loaf, and lost.

If you really want to feel queasy, read about how they prepare the food in LA's county jails.

Full post as published by TalkLeft on March 23, 2008 (boomark / email).