John Rocker/AP, File
A view of a tower overlooking High Desert State Prison in Indian Springs, Nevada, on April 15, 2015. The mother of a Nevada inmate who died in custody in April 2023 alleges in a new lawsuit filed late Thursday, April 11, 2024, that her son, Christian Walker, was severely beaten and left to die by corrections officers at High Desert State Prison near Las Vegas.
Thursday, June 27, 2024 | 2:00 AM
Some families of inmates in Nevada’s seven state prisons are concerned the state is failing to provide nutritious meals, and in sufficient quantities.
According to Return Strong, the state’s largest prisoner advocacy group, the issue has been simmering for some time.
But concerns have been growing since October, when the Department of Corrections and its food service supplier, Aramark, revamped the menus for most inmates to cut food costs.
Department of Corrections Deputy Commissioner Christina Shea said at a meeting of the Nevada Assembly’s Ad Hoc Finance Committee this month that the department misunderstood a state order requiring prisoners with certain health conditions to be served more expensive, low-sodium meals. Shea said the confusion led Nevada prisons to serve more expensive meals to all inmates, resulting in increased costs. She said menus have been updated to correct the issue.
The rising food prices have forced the Department of Corrections to request $2.2 million from the Interim Finance Board to make up for a funding shortfall through June 30, the end of the state’s fiscal year.
Lawmakers denied the request but said they would revisit it in July after receiving more information about the funding shortfall.
Lawmakers on the Finance Committee rejected the request after joking about “expensive pallets” during a committee meeting.
“Obviously they’re downplaying this, but this is a real issue. They’re asking for $2.2 million that would otherwise go into the general fund,” state Assembly Speaker Steve Yeager, a Las Vegas Democrat, said during the meeting.
But families of incarcerated people aren’t too amused by the funding shortfall, and they worry it will exacerbate existing problems with food in Nevada prisons.
“I don’t think any parent of someone in prison would ask their loved one for steak,” said Nancy Farley, a Return Strong member whose son is incarcerated at Lovelock Correctional Center. “We’re not asking for steak, we’re just asking for nutritious food in reasonable portions.”
Farley and fellow Return Strong member Yvonne Efferlund are involved in the organization’s “Food Fight,” which focuses on supporting and raising awareness about basic nutrition for prisoners. Some of the inmates the organization works with have expressed serious concerns about health issues and malnutrition, which Farley said is another hurdle they must overcome when released.
“If 95 percent of prisoners were released — let’s all pray that happens — they would bring their health issues into society and have to deal with them,” Farley said, “and someone would end up paying the full cost of their health care.”
Department of Corrections guidelines require inmates to receive three meals a day, two hot meals and one cold meal, and the meals provided through Aramark must meet basic nutritional requirements as set by the National Academy of Sciences.
For example, dinner could be a breaded chicken pate and bread, or pasta with three or four meatballs.
A report released in January by the Department of Health and Human Services found no major violations of nutritional standards on Nevada prison menus. Health officials in the report conducted interviews and inspections at several Nevada prisons, but advocacy groups said they remain skeptical.
“In all the research I’ve done and in my recent meeting with Aramark, it appears that there is real confusion in the chain of command within the kitchen,” Farley said. She said the meeting left questions about who is ultimately responsible for food quality.
Lawmakers on the Interim Finance Committee have indicated they intend to take up the issue again at their July 16 meeting, and are asking the Department of Corrections to provide more information about changes to food service and menus in the prison system.
“I think we need to know more about what exactly the menu was before, how much it cost, what the menu will be going forward, and whether the $2.2 million is enough to make those changes,” said Assemblyman Daniel Monroe Moreno, a North Las Vegas Democrat.
Aramark met with prison officials last week to discuss solutions to the shortages, a Return Strong spokesman said. Department of Corrections officials did not respond to requests for comment, saying only that there was no disruption to the frequency of inmate meals.
“The Nevada Department of Corrections will continue to provide meals to inmates as regularly scheduled,” the department said in a statement. “Service will not be interrupted. Providing inmates with essentials within a safe and secure environment is the department’s top priority.”
The agency has more than 10,000 inmates in its facilities, which are projected to cost the state about $24,500 per inmate per year, according to the governor’s 2023-2025 budget.
[email protected] / 702-990-8926 / @a_y_denrunnels
