Danny Holland, MCI-Norfolk

The Food Service Policy, 103 DOC 760, requires that Food Service Directors follow dietitian approved menus and corresponding recipes. However, THEY DO NOT! The dietitian approves specific foods for the nutritional values – sodium and cholesterol, vitamins fats, etc. Food Services routinely substitute the approved foods with outdated, unhealthy bulk purchases, which usually contain up to 10 times more of the approved amounts of sodium, cholesterol, and ultra-processed ingredients.

In addition to being unhealthy, these foods are unpalatable and are thrown away. From January 2024 until January 2025, over 928,000 pounds of prepared foods were thrown away! A pig farmer was paid $17,700 that year to pick up this swill. For every pound of food prepared at MCI-Norfolk over half a pound per person is thrown to the pigs. Additionally, contributing to this waste is ill prepared food. There is no training and very little, if any, oversight in the kitchen. Though recipes are required to be followed, they are not. The person who mopped the floors yesterday is responsible for the overcooked pasta or rice tomorrow. This is a lost opportunity to teach people skills. When unpalatable and ill prepared foods are served, the prisoners, just to exist, have no choice but to eat food that is ultra-processed, high in sodium, sugar, and unhealthy fats. The DOC in Fiscal Year 2024 spent $18,591,977 on food, and an overwhelming $212,259,576 on health care.

The Food Service Director at Norfolk is more concerned preparing (free) staff trays than correcting the outdated “broken” recipes he has promised to “fix” since he started. Instead, he claims that he doesn’t have the time to correct the recipes, which would simply take dietitian approval, because people complain, file grievances, and file lawsuits.

House Bill 4125 is an attempt to correct the situation. Please spread the word and contact your representatives encouraging them to support it.

Sources: Google – MCINorfolkWhistleBlower