Pricey Reader,
Since my final letter the place I attempted to elucidate the underground economic system of FPC Morgantown I’ve been struggling to provide you with an concept of what additional data you could be thinking about.
In trendy life on the surface we’re all so used to quick suggestions on every part we do. We write and publish an article and virtually immediately feedback begin to roll in. You push to Twitter and the peanut gallery chimes in and has their say, and also you because the content material creator have an instantaneous concept of the overall sentiment surrounding your work.
It takes some getting used to not having that trendy suggestions loop, however then again it’s fairly liberating as effectively. All that mentioned I’ve determined that right now I’m going to write down you in regards to the meals scenario at FPC Morgantown. I hope this letter can be attention-grabbing to you. Be at liberty to write down me a letter together with your ideas and options. My deal with can be posted on the backside of this letter.
One of many issues I’ve been doing repeatedly since arriving at FPC Morgantown is holding a day by day journal. Normally in the direction of the tip of my day round 8:00PM I sit at a desk flanked by chess tables and write a abstract of the times occasions. I write about any ideas I had all through the day or any incidents which have occurred. After I first acquired right here I solely had some clean white printer paper and a really uncomfortable pen (because of Omar who supplied me with these provides).
Now, after a procuring journey to the commissary I’ve a large dominated pocket book and a barely extra snug pen. In any case, across the third day of journaling I spotted an important majority of what I used to be writing about was about meals or at the very least considerably tangentially associated to meals. I now make an effort to keep away from writing in regards to the meals in my day by day journal because it will get repetitive.
Nevertheless it acquired me pondering why a lot of my vitality went to writing in regards to the meals served within the “Chow Corridor”. The conclusion I’ve come to is that a lot of a prisoners day revolves across the three essential meals and meals amount, high quality, and selection normally, that it turns into a naturally massive a part of our day by day life.
At 6:00 AM a crackling static hiss fills the empty hallways and the sleeping rooms of the housing unit. A loud announcement proceeds from the overhead audio system embedded within the ceiling: “ATTENTION BATES UNIT: MAINLINE IS NOW OPEN”. That is our first name to meals of the day. “Mainline” is a few BOP lingo to imply supper time.
Most prisoners keep away from the ten minute stroll to the Chow Corridor at this name to breakfast – myself included now. On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday there’s purported to be a “sizzling breakfast” which might be pancakes (at all times stodgy and undercooked) served with a brown liquid in a condiment package deal that’s apparently margarine and one other brown liquid in a condiment package deal which is a few form of syrup; French toast (truly fairly tasty) served with the identical margarine and syrup; or biscuits and gravy (biscuits are good, keep away from the grey soup that’s much less gravy and extra soiled laundry water).
Every of those is served with oatmeal or grits each fairly tasteless and harking back to wallpaper paste. Although as a rule we don’t get any of these issues, we get one thing they name “spice cake” which is a big piece of cake (with out icing) the place the batter is combined with cinnamon till it turns brown. It doesn’t style horrible, however one begins to resent the style of cinnamon cake when it’s served each morning (and once more for lunch if there’s any left over from breakfast – and there at all times is).
Each different day is what we name Chilly Breakfast. This consists of some form of bran flake so stale it’s harking back to consuming cardboard. Even essentially the most stoic prisoner who attends each breakfast will in any other case keep away from the Chow Corridor on a chilly breakfast day.
I don’t keep in mind if I advised you in regards to the multitude of geese and geese who reside on the compound. They have been purported to migrate south for winter sooner or later previously, however as an alternative they discovered such a hospitable surroundings among the many prisoners who fortunately feed them leftovers (towards the foundations by the way in which) that they determined to forgo the intuition emigrate to heat and keep right here yr spherical.
They reproduced in the way in which solely animals can and now there have to be lots of of geese and mallard geese that waddle across the complete compound. These prisoner water fowl know the meals schedule simply in addition to us human prisoners do. They wait by the exit of the Chow Corridor for altruistic prisoners to throw them a couple of items of bread after each meal, quacking and squawking demanding their fair proportion. On Chilly Breakfast days, throw the fowl the bran flakes and every one will refuse to eat them. That ought to inform you every part in regards to the universally hated Bran Flakes.
In any case, the 6:00AM Breakfast is the one time you have got entry to take advantage of. You might be supplied two small cartons of fats free skim milk – which seems to be nearer to water than milk – that’s typically a number of days expired.
Normally the milk remains to be drinkable, generally nevertheless the carton swells a lot it seems it’s about to blow up. That could be a good indication the milk has soured. If you’re given a bitter milk, robust luck. The breakfast mainline closes someplace round 20 minutes after it’s referred to as, so that you scarf down your cake and oatmeal, you drink your two cartons of skim milk (or extra generally you pocket the milk to carry again to the housing unit for later use – which by the way in which is towards the foundations and will end in disciplinary motion for contraband – with a extra appetizing cereal you bought from the Commissary). You make the ten minute journey again to the housing unit to await the subsequent break within the monotony of your life. Mainline lunch name.
Lunch mainline known as round 10:45 AM. Calling it lunch is kind of beneficiant, actually it’s late breakfast. Certainly we regularly get “breakfast for lunch” which is kind of universally hated on the compound.
Chilly scrambled eggs are often on the breakfast for lunch menu. You actually by no means know what you’re going to get at lunch time. They put up a menu for the week within the housing unit, however from expertise that seems to be extra aspirational than factual. Some days you’ll obtain a large portion of “hen fried rice” which is neither hen or fried rice. It’s turkey and a few greens with some rice, however it’s fairly tasty, and considerably nutritious.
Different instances you’ll get an overcooked tiny hamburger patty – that seems to be a bit of leather-based recycled from our issued work boots – on a stale and infrequently moldy bun with a couple of onions, a tomato slice, and a few iceberg lettuce. We had this yesterday in truth, and it put a damper on the temper throughout the entire compound. As I put it to my cellmate Mike, “When the onions, tomato, and bun are the star of the present as an alternative of the meat, that could be a dangerous burger”.
Portion sizes range wildly. If the kitchen staff serving that day are black and you might be black you seemingly will obtain an even bigger portion, possibly a second shoe leather-based patty. If they’re Hispanic they likewise present favor to these of their heritage. I’m not black, and whereas Hispanic, I don’t communicate Spanish and I seem like a gringo, so no additional parts for me. Moreover portion dimension disparity there’s additionally a large gulf in seasoning reliability. There are occasions that a lot salt has been added you want a gallon of water by your aspect to replenish your fluids as you eat. Different instances it’s as if salt is the equal of gold and should not ever be used on one thing so trivial as meals. Lunch ends round 11:15 and off we’re despatched to hold on with our day.
Dinner mainline known as round 4:45 PM. I might contemplate this a late lunch however I do acknowledge that many individuals (my expensive spouse included) contemplate this an appropriate time for dinner. Once more, the overall rule is to count on something.
It could be one thing scrumptious or one thing inedible. You might get a double portion if you’re the fitting race or a half portion if the server doesn’t just like the look of you. It could be over seasoned, below seasoned, not seasoned in any respect. It could be listed on the calendar and it will not be. You by no means know what to anticipate, and that’s my complete longwinded level as to why the meals is such a well-liked factor to debate among the many prisoners right here, and has taken up a lot of my vitality throughout my day by day journals.
Our complete day is couched by calls to eat meals. 6:00, 10:45, 4:45, and every time it’s referred to as it’s fully unpredictable. Each different facet of our lives right here is extraordinarily regimented, extraordinarily predictable, very monotonous. However heading to the Chow Corridor 3 times a day, that’s throwing the cube of destiny, that’s an unknown variable in a well-known equation.
That’s one thing completely different day-after-day to speak about. You see the identical folks over and over in your Unit. You run into the identical individual 50 instances a day, and albeit you run out of issues to say. You’ll be able to solely speak about how fucked up the Feds are, the way you have been shafted by the prosecutors, how your Decide was a bitch, so many instances. The unknown variable of Chow Corridor 3 times a day injects new blood into what may turn out to be a really stale social scenario. Shared disgust at a horrible meal. Incredibility at how scrumptious the hen parmesan was. Grievance at breakfast for lunch once more! The shared ordeal of meal instances maintains a standard social order.
You’ll have gathered from the above paragraphs that the meals high quality typically is kind of low. Most elements are provided by distributors who can get away with promoting expired and near rotten elements to the jail system. I’ve heard from kitchen workers that many containers arrive within the kitchen labeled “Not For Human Consumption”. Our potatoes are mouldy, our canned greens lengthy expired, our protein suspicious.
You couldn’t legally give this high quality of meals away on the surface, however you possibly can legally promote it to the BOP who will use it to feed the adults of their custody. Moreover low high quality elements and bland to actively disgusting recipes the dietary worth of our meals is extraordinarily low. If you’re a die arduous disciple of the USDA Meals Pyramid – bunk dietary science that everybody however the sluggish shifting feds acknowledge as a nationwide tragedy, accountable for the distinctive rise of weight problems charges – then sure, I suppose we’re getting – on paper – the required dietary worth out of each meal.
The on-the-ground outcomes of a chronic food plan like one we’re subjected to doesn’t lie. I’ve spoke with many alternative prisoners, a number of of them docs, who’ve come into the jail system as wholesome adults and after a number of years of custody have developed continual well being issues. Hypertension and excessive ldl cholesterol appear to be the most typical issues reported. Nearly each prisoner is on some form of prescribed medicine for some ailment they developed while in custody.
Due to the issues I’ve described. Many prisoners don’t hassle with the supper time calls to Chow Corridor. I’ve met a number of prisoners who by no means go to the Chow Corridor and solely purchase ready meals or prepare dinner for themselves. That is additionally not a great answer. The meals objects the commissary sells have to be shelf steady, nothing that may spoil with out refrigeration.
This naturally means practically every part is packed to the gills with preservatives and salt. On my first commissary day I bought 10 pouches of hen breast, a number of luggage of fast prepare dinner ‘minute rice’, a number of pouches of dried mash potatoes, small luggage of shredded mozzarella cheese (there isn’t a expiration date on the cheese, so I believe it’s extra preservatives than cheese), 10 pouches of tuna, mayonnaise (once more, no have to refrigerate so fairly suspicious), sizzling sauce (important for making the Chow Corridor meals extra palatable), salt, pepper, onion flakes, garlic powder, soy sauce, jelly, peanut butter, individually wrapped bagels, dried milk, and frosted flakes cereal.
Subsequent time I plan on shopping for granola, oatmeal, protein shakes, and tortillas. The meals I’m able to put together is tastier than the chow corridor, however I’m not but certain whether it is more healthy. Additionally it is fairly tough. The one cooking instruments legally obtainable to you is: on demand sizzling water (190 levels F) and a half gallon plastic jug. It takes some trial and error to prepare dinner below these situations. It’s lots of trouble and expense which makes cooking for your self prohibitive for these prisoners solely counting on their jail jobs.
Nearly everybody on the surface who hasn’t been to jail themselves or have a cherished one incarcerated doesn’t take into consideration the fundamental wants that people have in custody, or how these wants are met. The meals and diet within the system is woefully insufficient. We’d like increased high quality elements, contemporary fruit and greens, and way more protein. We’d like higher choices for cooking our personal meals throughout the unit, one thing greater than sizzling water. We’d like entry to refrigeration so we will preserve contemporary produce and objects not full of preservatives.
Thanks for studying this letter from the within. I don’t imply to make use of this chance writing you to complain. “It’s jail in spite of everything” a few of you’ll say, “it isn’t meant to be good”. Anyway, complaining isn’t in my nature, and it typically does nothing however make you and everybody round you depressing. I don’t write this letter in search of sympathy or condolences, I write to easily inform you of my actuality, and the truth of numerous variety of folks within the custody of the BOP. Pleased New Yr expensive reader. I hope 2026 brings you (and me) nice alternatives.
Sincerely,
Keonne
Write to Keonne:
Keonne Rodriguez
11404-511
FPC Morgantown
FEDERAL PRISON CAMP
P.O. BOX 1000
MORGANTOWN, WV 26507
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