Read the introduction from EATING BEHIND BARS, winner of the 2026 James Beard Media Award for Food Issues and Advocacy.
EATING BEHIND BARS is a vivid exploration of the food crisis affecting millions of incarcerated Americans. This disturbing portrait first came to light in 2020 when the national nonprofit Impact Justice released the first-ever examination of food in prison, catapulting the issue from the margins of prison litigation to the center of national conversations about mass incarceration and food justice. This landmark book digs deeper, revealing a systemic drive to cut costs at the expense of health and decency.
