There's (no) accounting for taste: identifying and predicting subgroups of incarcerated persons based on perceived food sufficiency and personal and lifestyle characteristics.

BACKGROUND

In recent decades, research focus on prison climate and normalization has increased, highlighting food as a particularly important dimension of prison life. This has recently led to policy reforms in Western Europe, aimed at improving dietary quality, meeting incarcerated persons’ food needs, and supporting sustainability goals. Meeting food needs can benefit health, well-being, and the overall prison experience, however, little is known about how food sufficiency may vary across the prison population. This study aims to identify subgroups of incarcerated persons based on their perceived food sufficiency and examines how personal and lifestyle characteristics predict membership of these subgroups.

RESULTS

Survey data from 3,010 incarcerated persons revealed three distinct subgroups, characterized by their overall level of perceived food sufficiency: Far too little (18%), Too little (44%), and Enough (38%). Several characteristics were associated with subgroup membership, including gender, age, physical activity level, health orientation, and the opportunity to self-cater. The opportunity to self-cater appeared as the strongest predictor; individuals without this opportunity were more likely to belong to the Far too little (OR = 2.2) and Too little (OR = 1.7) subgroups compared to the Enough subgroup.

CONCLUSIONS

Food was regarded as insufficient by a considerable proportion of participants, particularly by those without the opportunity to self-cater. These findings suggest that the standard meal system may not accommodate the diverse needs within the prison population. Meeting these needs can offer multiple benefits, including supporting autonomy, agency and identity, promoting physical and mental well-being and social interactions, and reducing antisocial attitudes, thereby contributing to effective prison management and humane treatment.