Texas Prisons Have Stopped Serving Weekend Lunches

Posted By: anita moore on October 21, 2011

After outlawing special last-meal requests for prisoners on death row, the Texas prison system has now gone one better: They're outlawing meals, period, for everyone.

Since April, the New York Times reports, inmates have not been provided lunches on Saturdays and Sundays.

It's a cost-cutting measure: an effort to trim $2.8 million in food-related expenses from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice's 2011 budget, which makes up just a small part of the state's multi-billion-dollar budget shortfall. They've made other changes elsewhere � say powdered milk instead of actual milk, or sliced white bread instead of hamburger buns. The practice is already in effect in Ohio and Arizona prisons; Georgia goes further, serving two meals per day on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.

The American Correctional Association recommendations state inmates should receive three meals per day, seven days a week. But Daron Hall, the president of the ACA, has no problem with Texas's new policy:

"In the economic climate we're in, you're asked to do some creative and inventive things."

John Whitmire, the Democratic state senator whose kvetching led to the last-meal ban, said this:

"If they don't like the menu, don't come there in the first place."

Gee, that's sympathetic. We commend his self-restraint in not suggesting they give the TDCJ a bad review on Yelp, then proceeding to devour an entire rotisserie chicken with his bare hands just inches away from a hungry inmate's grasp.
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anita moore
From augusta, GA
Member Since January 2008

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anita moore

Reality check it is, I don't know how you do it sis. I've been in this little hick time for too long and its coming to an end. My son got his diploma and I've got to leave. Because he has a car, a job and is in college the cops are on the hunt, but I'll be damned if I see my child get into trouble because of his color. I'm sick of this prejudice and racial divided city, so its time to move on.
The GOP's clearly don't give a darn about us, our rights etc, so we have to make our own way. I don't believe we need them, but we do need a even playing ground and clearly its not the case.
I need to be where I can help to make a difference, and that's clearly not here.

Saturday, October 22nd 2011 at 8:43AM

powell robert
Ohio Northern Univ class of 1966

anita, I pray I am not off subject

and dearest irma

I am a little old and a terrible user of technology; BUT i have Read that Prisons were made to hold and rehabilitate lawBreakers, communityDestroyers, and other taxPayer parasites of civilized American Life.

I sometimes notice some of these prisoners come to back to Society, with large muscles and attempt to bully Society even more.

i would VOTE for any politician that recommended; we Americans reduce the National deficit by reducing meals to ALL prisoners:

to one a day or every other day; of BEAN soup(bsNOI would supply the Meals).

This would reduce the size of the muscleBullies, so that even an old guy like me can still whip one of these societyParasites----

This would reduce the s*xual urges of these gayMeFelons that spread HIV-AIDS virus to the largest growing infected community in America, africanAmerican females.

This would allow them; while incarcerated to READ more and get educated.....

Saturday, October 22nd 2011 at 1:04PM

anita moore

@Brother Robert, Yes prisons were made to hold and rehabilitate, and I agree with locking up and throwing away the key on some of them, but look at statistics. 1/3 of the prisoners shouldn�t be in prison anyway and rehab is a useless word in prison. That time spent on the yard should be spent in rehab, so I agree with you on that. They have too many privileges, but they have to have a release or they turn on each other and the officers, so what do you suggest, lock them up like animals? Some of those guys come out of prison 20 years later having been found to not have even committed crimes they were convicted for in the first place. They were simply set up by the system in which they live.
Yes those wicked, horrible people who have indeed committed a crime shouldn�t be given certain privileges, but food is not one of them.
Ex: If they committed a s*x crime, they took something precious from someone, they should have something taken from them, if you know what I mean. There�s no place on earth for them.
Not feeding them does not reduce the deficit. Whether its told or not, prisoners contribute to society in a lot of different ways. Corporations make huge profits off of prisoners daily like Victoria�s Secret, Walmart, Costco, Dell, the military (uniforms & belts), and the list goes on and on and they get paid pennies, so slave labor is still in effect. Those jobs should be given to these people who need jobs, but that�s the world in which we live. The rich continue to rape the poor. Did I go off topic? Sorry, I get carried away sometimes. I�m just saying though!
Saturday, October 22nd 2011 at 2:26PM

powell robert
Ohio Northern Univ class of 1966

i believe i have stated before that the negro woman is the criminals best advocate.

no, any negro that is out on the street, de*****ating his community, not being a responsible American citizen----should be in jail

hell, even i, if accused ---- and if i lost the adversarial court sillyLaw; i probably could be sent to prison.

this is our life in America, the innocent MUST prove they are innocent---once a trial and jury is presented, the Representatives of the LAW know YOU are GUILTY---so this 1/3 number you sassay around HAS to be misleading..............

no, most of those negros have stolen, assaulted, sold or used illegal drugs, driven cars illegally and irma, I am not saying anything against gays, above, i am saying that most negros that have the thug life, mentality, and can be in prison any second of any day; do this lifestyle because they are REALLY gay and want society to believe their lying derrerriers...................again, 1 bowl of beanSoup every day----give the contract to farrakhanMadoof noi2011(it would be the only legal thing they have done in 37 years........

Saturday, October 22nd 2011 at 7:48PM

powell robert
Ohio Northern Univ class of 1966

anita,

last week a jury in Mississippi; sorry Minnesota;

convicted two poorAfricanAmerican mother and grandmother of sending food and clothing to starving and clothless eastAfricans(about $8000 worth)

The eastAfricans have been hit by 7 years of Drought, internal strife, invasion and bombing from theAir............. and granny and mother took time out of their nurseCaring for another grandmother to help railThin, stomach protruding, redHair Humans on the doorstep of disease and death-----

these caringWomen face 196 YEARS in jail at their sentencing............

and you worry about a bunch of THUGS getting Ripped in Prison...........

jenFad needs to do a nurseCaring story for you.............

Monday, October 24th 2011 at 7:03PM

anita moore

@Robert, You said �the innocent MUST prove they are innocent�, and that is not the law. It is innocent until proven guilty supposedly, but that is not the case for African Americans. I don�t need to spout off statistics, because you see it everyday in the news. Your thinking is way out in left park and I only come to one conclusion as to why, but I�ll leave that alone and let everyone else come with their own deduction.
Your story regarding the poor African mother and grandmother is a disgrace within itself and justifies my reasoning. You can�t get a fair shake if you are African american anything and don�t have to finances to back yourself up, say like an OJ, but there are also rail thing, stomach protruding humans right here in the US on the septs of disease and death who deserve assistance also. I�ll be sure to pray for those sister�s.
Sorry but you chose the wrong person to suggest to me a caring story as we don�t agree on much. I have my own stories, as I visit hospitals and certain areas with my mom, whom I might add is a missionary pastor. As a matter of fact she is laying a young mother to rest today who lost her battle to cancer, so please don�t preach to me. I see these things close up and personal.
Anyway's I went off subject again. How can you rehab someone when you've trained him to be an animal. Do you believe that the human being who has made mistakes cannot change? If all society thought as you do, the prisons would be double what they currently are, and that would be a shame!
Tuesday, October 25th 2011 at 9:46AM

powell robert
Ohio Northern Univ class of 1966

anita

in my days of old, one could make mistakes--------BIG ONES

americans of europeanDecent thought that americans of african slave descent could not THINK, be educated or play baseball?

but 2011, and since 1985, the COMPUTER controls mistakes and records them for ETERNITY..............

my father even told me, "you better get more than a high school diploma, cause computers will take over most of our lives."

so if Parents since 1985 have not been teaching their children to be upright and educated---those Parents should be arrested for childAbuse.

(Computers can read my mail from Space and hear my conversations in the shower),

So AMerican that in 2011 ------ thinks they can live Decadent, Ghetto Lives with Freedom, they should be arrested and lose their Freedom---in my opinion.

Wednesday, October 26th 2011 at 10:35PM

anita moore

Sorry guys, I didn't read my post prior to posting and I have some mistypes etc, but I think you guys get my drift.
Anywho, @Brother Robert you have the right to your own opinion. I just hope you and society in general would maintain an open mind and open heart to people who have done something stupid in the heat of the moment, forgive and help in their rehab, after all who can throw the first stone and What would Jesus, God, Allah, Buddha, etc do? , and I'll end this by saying Peace and Blessings!
Thursday, October 27th 2011 at 9:30AM