N.Y. City Jails Expand Healthy-Lifestyle Menus

NEW YORK — City Department of Correction officials continued their healthy overhaul of jail menus with the introduction of whole wheat bread.


In February the DOC began serving whole wheat bread instead of white bread to its approximately 14,000 inmates as officials expanded the department’s healthy eating drive. Sweetened muffins are next in line for the chop, replaced by a healthier unsweetened version, officials say.


In 2007, Rikers Island and detention centers in the Bronx and Manhattan replaced whole-fat milk with reduced-fat and skimmed milk. Officials also banned high-sugar beverages and began serving fresh fruit with at least one meal per day.


The DOC stopped cooking with trans fats six months before the city mandated the switch for city restaurants in 2006 and eliminated fried foods from the jail menu more than 10 years ago.
Since Michael Bloomberg became mayor in 2001, city jails have scaled back the amount of red meat served to inmates and included more chicken, fish and tofu as officials embraced low-fat, protein- and fiber-rich menus.


The turn to healthy eating is designed to have a positive effect on inmate lifestyles and long-term health, officials say. Reducing the dietary fat content will help decrease the incidence of stroke, heart attack and diabetes among inmates and the associated costs to the city of providing necessary medical care and emergency services, officials say.


The menu overhaul and substitution of healthy foods has not cost the city more money, officials say. The DOC spends about $2.50 per inmate per day on food.