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 info you might be enthusiastic about.
In fashionable life on the skin we’re all so used to instant suggestions on the whole lot we do. We write and publish an article and nearly 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 a right away concept of the overall sentiment surrounding your work.
It takes some getting used to not having that fashionable suggestions loop, however alternatively it’s fairly liberating as nicely. All that stated I’ve determined that as we speak I’m going to write down you in regards to the meals state of affairs at FPC Morgantown. I hope this letter might be fascinating to you. Be at liberty to write down me a letter along with your ideas and options. My handle might be posted on the backside of this letter.
One of many issues I’ve been doing recurrently since arriving at FPC Morgantown is maintaining a every 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 obtained right here I solely had some clean white printer paper and a really uncomfortable pen (due to Omar who offered me with these provides).
Now, after a purchasing 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 every day journal because it will get repetitive.
Nonetheless it obtained 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 principal meals and meals amount, high quality, and selection basically, that it turns into a naturally huge a part of our every 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 time for dinner.
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 may be imagined to be a “scorching breakfast” which may very well be pancakes (at all times stodgy and undercooked) served with a brown liquid in a condiment bundle that’s apparently margarine and one other brown liquid in a condiment bundle 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 most of the time 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 blended 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 may be 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 instructed you in regards to the multitude of geese and geese who reside on the compound. They have been imagined to migrate south for winter sooner or later up to now, however as an alternative they discovered such a hospitable setting among the many prisoners who fortunately feed them leftovers (in opposition to 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 should be a whole lot 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 each will refuse to eat them. That ought to inform you the whole lot in regards to the universally hated Bran Flakes.
In any case, the 6:00AM Breakfast is the one time you’ve gotten entry to take advantage of. You’re 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 continues to be drinkable, typically 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 known 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 convey again to the housing unit for later use – which by the way in which is in opposition to the foundations and should 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 is named 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 normally on the breakfast for lunch menu. You actually by no means know what you’re going to get at lunch time. They publish 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 occasions you’re going to get an overcooked tiny hamburger patty – that seems to be a chunk 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 actual fact, 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 differ wildly. If the kitchen staff serving that day are black and you might be black you probably will obtain an even bigger portion, perhaps 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 further parts for me. In addition to portion measurement disparity there may be 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 occasions 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 is named round 4:45 PM. I might think about this a late lunch however I do acknowledge that many individuals (my pricey spouse included) think about this an appropriate dinner time. Once more, the overall rule is to anticipate something.
It might be one thing scrumptious or one thing inedible. Chances are you’ll get a double portion in case you are the proper race or a half portion if the server doesn’t just like the look of you. It might be over seasoned, beneath seasoned, not seasoned in any respect. It might 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 every day journals.
Our complete day is couched by calls to eat meals. 6:00, 10:45, 4:45, and every time it’s known as it’s completely unpredictable. Each different facet of our lives right here is extraordinarily regimented, extraordinarily predictable, very monotonous. However heading to the Chow Corridor thrice a day, that’s throwing the cube of destiny, that’s an unknown variable in a well-known equation.
That’s one thing totally different day by day to speak about. You see the identical folks again and again in your Unit. You run into the identical individual 50 occasions a day, and albeit you run out of issues to say. You’ll be able to solely discuss how fucked up the Feds are, the way you have been shafted by the prosecutors, how your Choose was a bitch, so many occasions. The unknown variable of Chow Corridor thrice a day injects new blood into what may develop into a really stale social state of affairs. Shared disgust at a horrible meal. Incredibility at how scrumptious the hen parmesan was. Criticism at breakfast for lunch once more! The shared ordeal of meal occasions maintains a typical social order.
You will have gathered from the above paragraphs that the meals high quality typically is kind of low. Most components are provided by distributors who can get away with promoting expired and near rotten components to the jail system. I’ve heard from kitchen workers that many bins 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 skin, however you may legally promote it to the BOP who will use it to feed the adults of their custody. In addition to low high quality components and bland to actively disgusting recipes the dietary worth of our meals is extraordinarily low. If you’re a die laborious disciple of the USDA Meals Pyramid – bunk dietary science that everybody however the sluggish transferring feds acknowledge as a nationwide tragedy, answerable 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 protracted weight loss program like one we’re subjected to doesn’t lie. I’ve spoke with many alternative prisoners, a number of of them medical doctors, who’ve come into the jail system as wholesome adults and after a number of years of custody have developed persistent well being issues. Hypertension and excessive ldl cholesterol appear to be the most typical issues reported. Virtually each prisoner is on some form of prescribed treatment for some ailment they developed while in custody.
Due to the issues I’ve described. Many prisoners don’t trouble with the time for dinner 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 cook dinner for themselves. That is additionally not a perfect resolution. The meals gadgets the commissary sells should be shelf steady, nothing that may spoil with out refrigeration.
This naturally means practically the whole lot 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 cook dinner ‘minute rice’, a number of pouches of dried mash potatoes, small luggage of shredded mozzarella cheese (there isn’t any expiration date on the cheese, so I think it’s extra preservatives than cheese), 10 pouches of tuna, mayonnaise (once more, no have to refrigerate so fairly suspicious), scorching sauce (very 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. It’s also fairly tough. The one cooking instruments legally out there to you is: on demand scorching water (190 levels F) and a half gallon plastic jug. It takes some trial and error to cook dinner beneath these situations. It’s plenty of trouble and expense which makes cooking for your self prohibitive for these prisoners solely counting on their jail jobs.
Virtually everybody on the skin who hasn’t been to jail themselves or have a liked one incarcerated doesn’t take into consideration the fundamental wants that people have in custody, or how these wants are met. The meals and vitamin within the system is woefully insufficient. We want increased high quality components, contemporary fruit and greens, and much more protein. We want higher choices for cooking our personal meals inside the unit, one thing greater than scorching water. We want entry to refrigeration so we will hold contemporary produce and gadgets 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’s not 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 fact of numerous variety of folks within the custody of the BOP. Pleased New Yr pricey reader. I hope 2026 brings you (and me) nice alternatives.
Sincerely,
Keonne
Write to Keonne:
Keonne Rodriguez11404-511FPC MorgantownFEDERAL PRISON CAMPP.O. BOX 1000MORGANTOWN, WV 26507
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