Federal prison FAQ

# Food

Medical diets, religious diets, spreads, and how people cook without a stove.

The chow hall

## What gets served

### Is the food bad?

Depends on the facility. I thought it was generally pretty good, and I am a picky eater.

Food quality is one of the most facility-specific things there is, which is why it gets tracked per institution in [the facility guide](/resources/facilities) rather than answered once here.

### What if I have a food allergy, diabetes, or celiac?

There are medical diets available. Set it up through medical.

Get the diagnosis into your record before you report if you can. Arguing for a diet from inside with nothing documented is a much longer project than arriving with paperwork.

### Can I get a religious diet?

Yes. Set it up through religious services or the chaplain (staffer who runs religion and delivers bad news).

Religious accommodation is one of the few areas of the system with actual teeth behind it, so this is a request that tends to go somewhere.

### What if I'm vegetarian?

Set it up through medical.

Most mainlines also run a no-flesh option day to day without any paperwork at all. What is approved and how is in [PS 4700.08, the Food Service Manual](/resources/program-statements/4700-08-food-service-manual), which nearly every warden supplements locally — so the handbook at your facility is the version that governs you.

Everything else

## Feeding yourself

### What do I do if I'm hungry all the time?

Eat. Commissary (the prison store) exists, spreads exist, and men will feed you.

### What's a spread?

A meal built out of commissary ingredients, usually shared. Ramen as the base, plus whatever anyone contributes. It is the closest thing to a dinner party in there.

Being invited to one is also a social event, not just a meal. Bring something.

### How do people cook without a stove?

Usually a homemade candle and a steel plate. Microwaves where they exist.

### Can I buy food from kitchen workers?

Unofficially, yes. Kitchen access is a real economic position and it is one of the reasons those jobs are wanted.

It is also, formally, stolen government property changing hands. Nobody on the compound thinks of it that way and the paperwork does. [The economy](/going-in/while-youre-in/the-economy) covers what happens when enforcement occasionally shows up.

Next section — part 8 of 16

### [Fights, safety, and conflict](/going-in/faq/fights-safety-and-conflict)

The thing you are most afraid of is not the thing most likely to happen to you. What the real risks are, and what stepping into one costs.

For your people

## Hand the rest of this site to your family

You will not be able to look things up once you're inside. They can, and this is where: [everything written for the one waiting](/for-families) — a twelve-part guide to mail, visiting, money, and your release date, plus their own FAQ and checklist. Alongside it, a [guide to every facility](/resources/facilities) with [email alerts when visiting stops](/lockdown-alerts/subscribe), the [support group directory](/resources/support-groups), calculators for your release math, and [free answers](/contact) when they have questions.

Send them the link before you report, not after they can't reach you.

**Need help with this? Just ask.**

These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer.

[josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=FAQ%20question)

I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out.