CountyJail.net

        USA  /  California  /  Shasta County Jail    CountyJail.net has 1,420 interviews from ex-inmates. Share your story
Find Shasta County Jail inmates...

Meals

Interview with Sarah, Paul, Allan and Erik

JM: How many meals did you get per day?
Sarah: three
Paul: three meals a day. Breakfast and lunch were hot. Dinner was a cold sack lunch. Kitchen crew got extra food, and had their choice of food that was for the guards as well. I had some very good salads in there. Horrible as it is to say, the guards food was actually good.
Allan: If you could call them meals, 3 or really 2 1/2 lunch really sucked, a flat sandwich with a piece of balony ( which was the better one) and an apple , every freaking day !!!
Erik: three, breakfast, lunch (bagged) and dinner

JM: How would you rate the food? Please give details of why.
Sarah: not good
Paul: The food was tasteless and unfilling. The kitchen staff served portions based on how many calories they feel is the minimum requirement. There is no consideration given to the size of the inmate or that some people may require more calories then others. It caused a lot of tension at mealtime when people were trying to trade for food from the trays of others. Commissary soups (ramen noodles)and coffee were treasured trading material
Allan: I don't even have 50 words for the food, it's better than some places but, too much oatmeal and beans- And cold- what can you say about jail food that hasn't already been said , it ain't momma's cookin' I've eaten worse but not for as long- It was just fuel
Erik: breakfast was warm and you got a bag lunch. Dinners were well thought out nutricianly. Special needs seemed to be met Only once thru the food line and there was a store where one could buy stuff like chips, candy, coffee and the like. Lunches were a little lean with breakfast and dinner being more hearty

JM: Did you have any favorite/least favorite meals?
Sarah: no
Paul: my least favorite meal with the chicken salad sandwich dinner. It was without a doubt the worst I have ever tasted.
Allan: No, I ate more for fuel than enjoyment- they did have fresh baked bread which was good, and every once in a while Chile con carne, but never enough of that
Erik: Pizza night was a big hit as were hamburgers. Mostly we gor some sort of cassarole. I worked in the kitchen where more food was available.

JM: Were there any other snacks offered outside of meals? What was commissary like and how expensive was it?
Sarah: yes.. you are allowed to buy form the jsil house store if you have money's on your books.
Paul: no snacks were provided to the regular inmates, and commissary was very expensive and unreliable. Often items were removed from your list with no notification. The instant coffee was horrific, but better then nothing. The sweets were regular candy bars and such, sold at a significant markup
Allan: very expensive, the charged $1.10 for a ramen soup that cost the 5 cents and that was at that time, I heard they're 2 bucks now- what a rip off. It amazes me how much the cost of incarceration is shouldered by the inmates these days
Erik: There was commisay and the prices didn't seem too bad 8 oz coffer 5 dollars. The store had a variety of top ramen, candy, nuts and stuff like that. People outside you buy and send food fron three different catalogs

Read about inmate access to medication in the Shasta County Jail

comments powered by Disqus