Inmates moan about lack of healthy options in jail canteen

PRISONERS are complaining about not being served enough healthy food, a report into how money is being used in jails has found.

Inmates refer to the canteen as the “sweet shop” because there are not enough “healthy options” on offer.

Fewer than half of Britain’s prisoners are satisfied with the food, while other inmates have complained that they cannot get the right hair product or enough CDs and magazines.

The findings came in a report by HM Inspectorate of Prisons that lifted the lid on how prisoners earn and spend money while locked up.

Inmates can earn through jobs while incarcerated – though wages are low, with the average inmate making £10 a week in 2010 – and can also be sent cash by relatives.

The money is kept in accounts by the prison staff and can be spent at the canteen or shop which sells snack food, tobacco, toiletries, “hobby materials” and stationery.

However, the report also detailed prisoners’ gripes about the food.

The report said: “Overall, fewer than half of prisoners in our survey (47 per cent) felt that the canteen had a wide enough range of goods to meet their needs. They were often dissatisfied with the food options available and referred to it as a ‘ sweet shop’ due to the lack of healthy options they could buy.”

Others complained about the products available, with one inmate saying: “I need things to keep my hair in good condition and I just can’t get it.”

One foreign inmate said there was a “lack of items that would help me to remember my national identity – foreign national food supplies, magazines, CDs, DVDs and books”.

The report also revealed the difficulties of running a market in a building filled with criminals, noting the threat from blackmail and intimidation.

The report said: “Prisoners with access to funds and goods, acquired either legitimately or through bullying, may arrange elaborate displays of toiletries or other items in their cells as a symbol of status and prestige.”

The authors said letting prisoners earn and spend money helped them learn the principles of employment – around one in three convicts did not have a bank account when they committed their crimes – and called for a review of prisoner pay rates.