Georgia’s prison food has long been notorious for its poor quality and meager portions. In most Georgia facilities, inmates are not even fed three times a day. On Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, Georgia prisoners are fed two meals and a peanut butter sandwich. The peanut butter sandwich was added during Covid, and is still being served, pretending it’s a third meal. 1. According to the 2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, a sedentary adult male requires roughly 2,200–2,400 calories per day. Active males may require upwards of 2,800–3,000 calories per day 2.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends approximately 2,500 calories per day as a baseline minimum for adult men under normal conditions 3.
The Georgia Department of Corrections does not publicly disclose their calorie target for inmates. Based on the food and portions we see in pictures coming out of the prisons, we estimate that Georgia prisoners are receiving as little as 1200 calories on weekends and perhaps 1800 calories Monday – Thursday, assuming that everything served is edible. Almost everything served is processed carbohydrates, much of it is corn-based, with no fresh fruits, fresh vegetables and no meats.
Typical meals served in Georgia Prisons
Such chronic undernourishment not only harms physical health but can also severely affect mental well-being and behavior. Irritability, anxiety, and aggression are common responses to prolonged hunger and malnutrition, and Georgia’s prison system has seen these issues firsthand.
Multiple studies have found a strong link between poor diet and increased violence among incarcerated people. In fact, a series of rigorous trials (conducted in the U.K., Netherlands, and elsewhere) showed that improving inmates’ nutrition and providing vitamin/mineral supplements led to an average 30% decrease in violent incidents behind bars 4. According to researcher Bernard Gesch of Oxford University, “anti-social behavior in prisons, including violence, is reduced by vitamins, minerals and essential fatty acids,” compared to placebo groups. These outcomes are striking – better than what many purely behavioral interventions achieve – highlighting that some portion of prison violence may be rooted in biological deficiencies. Conversely, the prevalence of nutrient deficiencies in typical prison fare (low in protein, fresh produce, and healthy fats) is associated with worsened mental health. A report by Impact Justice concluded that lack of proper nutrients contributes to depression, aggression, and antisocial behavior in incarcerated populations 5. In short, when prisoners are fed inadequately, it can directly fuel tensions and mental instability, creating a more volatile environment for both inmates and staff.
Food Spending in Georgia vs. Other States (e.g. Arkansas)
One reason Georgia’s prison meals are so meager is the extremely low budget allotted for food. State records reveal that Georgia’s Department of Corrections (GDC) spent only about $1.80 per inmate per day on food in recent years 6. This works out to about $0.60 per meal on average – an extraordinarily tight budget to cover all ingredients, preparation, and service. And it’s been reported that the GDC has reduced the budget considerably more since the 2023 budget cited above. By comparison, many other states allocate more resources to feeding prisoners, resulting in more substantial meals.
In Arkansas, for instance, state standards mandate that inmates receive three meals a day, including at least two hot meals, with a minimum daily caloric content of 2,300 calories for sedentary inmates and 2,700 for active inmates 7. These regulations ensure that prisoners in Arkansas are offered more food by volume and nutrition than those in Georgia. Meeting such standards inevitably requires a higher food expenditure per inmate. (In Arkansas county jails, contracts have paid on the order of $5–6 per meal for outsourced food service in some instances, far above Georgia’s ~$0.60 per meal budget.) Even states not known for lavish prison spending often do better than Georgia: Florida historically budgeted around $2.30 per inmate per day and California about $3.00 per day (recently raised to over $4 to adjust for inflation) on prisoner food – roughly double Georgia’s level 8. With such a slim food budget, Georgia prisons frequently serve cheap starches and processed fillers in small portions, leaving many incarcerated people underfed.
Georgia’s cost-cutting on meals has even meant skipping meals on certain days. Until very recently, Georgia prisons did not serve a midday meal on weekends at most facilities – inmates only got breakfast and a late afternoon dinner on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. In 2024, Governor Brian Kemp approved an additional $1.2 million in the state budget specifically so that GDC could begin offering “additional meals on weekends,” which amounts to a single peanut butter sandwich. 9. This move tacitly acknowledges that the prior practice was leaving people hungry for extended periods. By contrast, states like Arkansas never dropped to two meals a day because their policies and budgets treat three meals as standard. The overall picture is that Georgia’s spending on prison food is among the lowest in the nation, and it shows in what reaches the tray.
Malnutrition, Aggression, and Cognitive Function
Food is not just calories – it’s also critical vitamins, minerals, and fatty acids that the brain needs to function properly. Malnutrition can significantly impair cognitive function and exacerbate mental health problems, which in turn can lead to more misconduct and aggression. History offers a dramatic illustration: in the early 20th century, a dietary disease called Pellagra swept through populations that had extremely poor diets (notably in Southern prisons, asylums, and tenant communities). Pellagra is caused by a severe deficiency of niacin (vitamin B3) and protein. Sufferers developed dermatitis, chronic diarrhea, and dementia – it was known as the disease of the “four D’s”: dermatitis, diarrhea, dementia, and death 10. Thousands of inmates and patients in Georgia and other states were afflicted with pellagra due to cornmeal-based prison rations lacking meat or vegetables. The condition often led to profound confusion, psychosis, and aggressive behaviors as the dementia set in.
In 1915, U.S. Public Health Service physician Dr. Joseph Goldberger conducted a landmark experiment on volunteer inmates at a Mississippi prison farm to prove pellagra’s dietary origin. He put eleven healthy prisoners on the typical nutrient-poor prison diet (largely corn grits, syrup, biscuits, and fatback – no fresh produce or milk). Within months, six of the eleven prisoners developed pellagra, confirming that the lack of vitamins and protein was to blame. When their diet was supplemented with milk, meat, and vegetables, they recovered 11. Goldberger’s prison experiment demonstrated how malnutrition can literally induce mental illness – and conversely, how restoring proper nutrition can cure those symptoms. This is an extreme example, but it underlines a key point: an inadequate diet can damage brain function. Even less severe vitamin and mineral deficiencies, when prolonged, are linked to problems like poor impulse control, difficulty concentrating, and heightened anxiety or irritability.
Modern nutritional science continues to find links between diet and behavior. For instance, deficiencies in omega-3 fatty acids (commonly found in fish, nuts, and seeds) have been associated with increased aggression and even higher rates of psychiatric disorders. In one study of prisoners, those with low omega-3 levels showed measurably more impulsive and hostile behavior, whereas inmates given omega-3 and other supplements exhibited improved behavior and fewer disciplinary infractions. Researchers note that omega-3 fatty acids play a role in regulating mood and executive function in the brain 12. Likewise, lack of minerals like zinc and magnesium or vitamins like B12 and D has been linked to depression and cognitive impairment. In prison settings, where the baseline diet is often poor, these micronutrient gaps are common – potentially contributing to an overall level of cognitive dysfunction and volatility. In summary, when human beings are fed a diet that barely meets hunger, much less nutritional needs, their minds and behavior can deteriorate. This is especially pertinent in correctional institutions, which house many individuals with pre-existing mental health vulnerabilities that an inadequate diet may worsen.
Prison Riots and Unrest Linked to Food Shortages
History shows that food shortages and substandard meals have sparked numerous prison riots. Desperate hunger and anger over inedible food can be a tipping point that drives inmates to violence. “Problems with food – both in terms of quantity and quality – have been the basis of prison riots throughout history,” as one report on prison management noted 13. Depriving people of adequate food is a surefire recipe for unrest, whether in prisons or the broader society (as we’ll explore shortly).
A famous example is the Attica prison uprising in 1971. The men incarcerated at New York’s Attica Correctional Facility endured years of horrific conditions, including near-starvation rations. The state was spending only 63 cents per inmate per day on food at Attica – an extraordinarily low sum even for that time, equating to insufficient, often spoiled meals 14. ($0.63 in 1971 is worth approximately $5 in 2025, adjusted for inflation.) Inmates were going to bed hungry on a regular basis. This mistreatment was one of the core grievances that led over 1,200 prisoners to rebel, seize control of the prison yard, and take hostages in September 1971. Similarly, at Kentucky’s Northpoint Training Center, tensions over food boiled over into chaos. In August 2009, Northpoint erupted in a riot that saw dormitories and the cafeteria set ablaze. An investigation later found that “almost every” prisoner and staff member interviewed cited disgust with the food quality, chronic shortages, and tiny portions as a major contributing factor to the riot 15. Northpoint had outsourced its meal service to a private company (Aramark) to save money, cutting the cost to roughly $2.63 per inmate per day – but prisoners reported finding hair, rocks, and even feces in their meals, and often having items on the menu replaced with cheaper substitutes or nothing at all. In the days leading up to the riot, inmates staged a peaceful protest over the deteriorating food. When no improvements came, anger reached a breaking point. During the riot, many prisoners targeted the kitchen for destruction, and investigators noted that meal trays had been dumped on the floor in protest earlier that day 16.
These cases illustrate a clear pattern: when prisoners are extremely malnourished or disgusted by the food they are served, violence can result. Hunger is a powerful instigator. Even outside of full-blown riots, Georgia has seen extreme levels of violence in its prisons in recent years, and incarcerated people consistently report that insufficient food is one factor driving tensions.
Food Scarcity and Societal Collapse: Lessons from History
Prison uprisings are not the only conflicts fueled by lack of food – societies at large have a long history of revolt when food becomes scarce or unaffordable. Perhaps the most famous example is the role of bread shortages in the French Revolution. In the late 1780s, France was experiencing skyrocketing bread prices and periodic crop failures. Bread was the staple of the French diet (accounting for as much as 60–80% of an average laborer’s income), so even a small price increase was devastating. In 1788–1789, grain shortages led to widespread hunger. Riots began erupting in the markets and villages; in the spring of 1789 – on the eve of revolution – one observer wrote that “the want of bread is terrible; accounts arrive every moment from the provinces of riots and disturbances… calling in the military to preserve the peace” 17. The people’s fury at the monarchy was stoked in large part by the fact that they could not feed their families. The famous “Flour War” riots of 1775 (when over 300 bread riots broke out in response to high grain prices) were a precursor to the larger revolution. Ultimately, the French Revolution was a complex event with many causes, but the immediate spark that sent an angry crowd to storm the Bastille in July 1789 included the desperate search for grain to make bread. Food scarcity helped ignite a revolution that toppled a kingdom.
In more recent times, food crises have triggered unrest and regime change as well. The wave of uprisings across the Middle East in 2011, known as the Arab Spring, had many political and social causes – but notably, it was preceded by a sharp spike in global food prices. In late 2010, the cost of wheat and other staples hit record highs. In countries like Egypt, Tunisia, and Syria, where governments provided bread subsidies and many people already lived on the edge, the price surge was devastating. Citizens took to the streets in what began as “bread riots” in some places. Analysts have traced how a peak in wheat prices correlated with the outbreak of protests. In fact, one research institute predicted unrest was imminent, noting that several past food price spikes (in 2008 and earlier) had led to riots 18. In Tunisia, the protests that ousted President Ben Ali were initially sparked by economic frustration and high living costs – exemplified by the struggles of a food vendor who set himself on fire. In Egypt, the government’s inability to keep bread affordable fueled anger against President Mubarak. While political oppression was the overarching target of the Arab Spring demonstrations, it’s clear that empty stomachs helped drive people into the streets. This pattern can be seen throughout history: from the “Bread and Roses” strike of 1912 in Massachusetts (workers striking for fair wages to buy food) to food riots in the Confederate South during the American Civil War. When food grows scarce, people may tolerate hardship for a while, but eventually desperation turns into collective action and sometimes violence or revolution.
Comparing Georgia’s Inmate Food Budget to Other Institutions
To put Georgia’s per-inmate food budget in perspective, it helps to compare it to food spending in other state-funded institutions and programs. As noted, Georgia prisons spend roughly $1.80 per day to feed one person three meals. By contrast, the National School Lunch Program – which provides free/reduced lunches in public schools nationwide – reimburses about $3.66 per meal for each eligible student (as of 2022). If a student received three meals at that rate, it would total about $10.98 per day – six times what Georgia budgets to feed a prisoner for a day 19. In other words, the government is willing to spend several dollars on a single lunch for a child in school (which is a good investment in that child’s nutrition and ability to learn), but spends far less than that on an entire day of meals for an incarcerated adult.
Even within Georgia, other state-run facilities allocate more for food. For example, a typical public hospital or nursing home will spend significantly more per person on meals than prisons do. In California (for which data is available), state veterans’ nursing homes budgeted about $8.25 per resident per day for food in long-term care facilities (as of 2020) – still modest, but more than four times the Georgia prison food allowance 20. While the exact figures for Georgia’s hospital patients or care facility residents are not immediately available, it is standard that institutional food service in healthcare settings ranges from $5 to $10+ per day per person. These comparisons underscore just how low $1.80 per day truly is.
Another illuminating comparison is to the average American’s food spending. In the general population, an individual eats about $8 worth of food per day on average (this figure comes from national expenditure data, which showed an average of roughly $8.12 per person per day on food in the early 2000s) – that’s four to five times higher than what Georgia spends on feeding someone in prison 21. Of course, economies of scale and bulk purchasing mean prisons can get ingredients cheaper than a private citizen might, but the gulf is still enormous. It suggests that meals in Georgia prisons are being produced on an extremely tight shoestring, which is borne out by the reports of their quality and portion size.
The Hidden Cost: How Poor Nutrition Fuels Georgia’s Prison Healthcare Crisis
Poor nutrition plays a significant role in the healthcare crisis within Georgia’s prisons. Studies consistently show that inadequate diets lead directly to increased susceptibility to illnesses, chronic diseases, mental health disorders, and weakened immune systems. Prison diets, often deficient in essential nutrients, vitamins, and proteins, can exacerbate health issues such as diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, and depression. In Georgia, where the state spends $1.80 a day per inmate on food, these dietary deficiencies directly translate into greater demand for medical care—intensifying the existing healthcare crisis.
In essence, better nutrition could significantly alleviate healthcare burdens, reduce medical costs, and improve overall safety by addressing health problems at their root.
The Georgia Department of Corrections could pay for the entire cost of providing nutritionally adequate food by the savings from medical expenses alone.
Conclusion
In summary, Georgia’s per-inmate food budget is astonishingly low when compared to other benchmarks. Public school cafeterias, hospitals, and even other states’ prison systems all dedicate far more resources to nutrition. The consequences of this underfunding manifest in the day-to-day suffering of hungry inmates, as well as in broader outcomes like worsened inmate health, more frequent violence, and costly unrest. Food might seem like a minor aspect of prison operations, but as evidence shows, it is central to both basic human dignity and the overall stability and safety of the institution.
Adequately feeding incarcerated people is not about indulgence; it’s about meeting minimal standards of care and potentially improving outcomes for everyone – including reducing violence and mental health crises. As one former prison worker noted, whether or not one believes prisoners “deserve” good food, “the relationship between improved nutrition and overall prison safety is much less complicated” – better food clearly leads to a safer, healthier environment, which benefits inmates, corrections staff, and the public 22.
A Call To Action
Georgia’s prison food crisis isn’t just about justice—it’s about basic human dignity and public safety. Malnutrition behind bars fuels violence, worsens health outcomes, and increases long-term costs for taxpayers. It’s time for change.
Use Impact Justice AI to quickly and effectively contact Georgia lawmakers and officials, urging immediate improvements to prison nutrition and healthcare. Share your own experiences and stories through our Submit Story page, helping shine a light on what’s really happening behind prison walls.
Together, we can demand nutritious food and humane conditions, transforming Georgia’s prisons from breeding grounds of violence into places of rehabilitation and hope. Join us now—because no one deserves to go hungry.
Sources:
– Alysia Santo and Lisa Iaboni, “What’s in a Prison Meal?” (July 7, 2015). (Describes examples of inadequate prison meals, including Georgia’s Gordon County Jail feeding inmates twice a day, with many inmates left hungry and resorting to extremes.) URL: https://www.themarshallproject.org/2015/07/07/what-s-in-a-prison-meal
2. San Quentin News – Joshua Strange, “Growing research shows impact of poor nutrition on prison violence” (April 28, 2023). (Summarizes scientific studies linking improved nutrition to reduced violence (≈30% drop in incidents) and notes Impact Justice report findings on nutrient deficiencies causing aggression. Also provides data on California prison food spending vs. school meals and other institutions.) URL: https://sanquentinnews.com/growing-research-shows-impact-of-poor-nutrition-on-prison-violence/
3. Georgia Senate Budget and Evaluation Office – FY 2023 Amended Budget Report (Public Safety and Criminal Justice), performance measures for Food and Farm Operations. (Official state document listing Georgia Department of Corrections food costs; shows “Cost per day per offender (food only)” rising to $1.85 by FY 2022.) URL: https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/document/docs/default-source/senate-budget-office-document-library/appropriations/2023/fy23a_house_public_safety_and_criminal_justice.pdf (see p. 7 of PDF)
4. Filter Magazine – Jimmy Iakovos, “GA Prisons to Get ‘Additional Meals,’ a Bad Fix for the Wrong Problem” (May 23, 2024). (First-hand account by an incarcerated writer in Georgia, discussing Governor Kemp’s $1.2 million budget addition for weekend meals and describing current meal schedule issues in Georgia prisons.) URL: https://filtermag.org/georgia-prison-budget-commissary/
5. Arkansas Secretary of State – “Minimum Standards for Arkansas Detention Facilities – Food Service” (Arkansas Jail Standards, 2014). (State regulations requiring that inmates be fed three meals a day (with two hot meals) and setting a minimum calorie level of 2,300–2,700 per day in Arkansas facilities.) URL: https://www.sos.arkansas.gov/uploads/rulesRegs/Arkansas%20Register/2014/dec2014/006.26.14-001.pdf (see Section 11-1001)
6. Office of NIH History – “Dr. Joseph Goldberger & the War on Pellagra”. (Historical account of pellagra in the early 1900s and Goldberger’s dietary experiments on Mississippi prisoners in 1915, demonstrating that malnutrition caused pellagra’s dementia and other symptoms, which were reversed by proper diet.) URL: https://history.nih.gov/pages/viewpage.action?pageId=8883184
7. Curran et al., Nutrients journal – “The Effect of Dietary Supplementation on Aggressive Behaviour in Australian Adult Male Prisoners” (2020, PMC7551402). (Academic study on nutrition and aggression; notes that low omega-3 fatty acid levels are associated with greater aggression and that supplementation can improve behavior.) URL: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7551402/
8. Governing Magazine – Natalie Delgadillo, “Maggots With a Side of Dirt? What Privatization Does to Prison Food” (Jan. 26, 2018). (Details problems with prison food nationwide and notes that food-related issues have historically sparked prison riots. Also discusses cost-cutting by private contractors.) URL: https://www.governing.com/archive/gov-private-food-service-prisons-aramark-trinity-ohio-michigan.html
9. Attica is All of Us (advocacy site) – “Attica: The History” (accessed 2021). (Provides background on conditions leading to the 1971 Attica uprising; mentions the state spent only $0.63 per prisoner per day on food and other inhumane conditions that fueled the rebellion.) URL: http://www.atticaisallofus.org/history
10. Prison Legal News – David M. Reutter, “Food Problems Contribute to Riot at Kentucky Prison” (April 2010). (Reports on the 2009 riot at Northpoint Training Center in Kentucky, noting that prisoners’ grievances about insufficient, low-quality food (under Aramark’s $2.63/day meal contract) were a major factor in the unrest.) URL: https://www.prisonlegalnews.org/news/2010/apr/15/food-problems-contribute-to-riot-at-kentucky-prison/
11. History.com – Erin Blakemore, “How Bread Shortages Helped Ignite the French Revolution” (Sept. 30, 2019; updated July 14, 2023). (Explains how severe bread shortages and high grain prices in 18th-century France led to riots (the Flour War) and increased public anger at the monarchy, contributing to the outbreak of the French Revolution in 1789.) URL: https://www.history.com/news/bread-french-revolution-marie-antoinette
12. Vice (Motherboard) – Audrey Carleton, “Skyrocketing Wheat Prices Are Creating a Global ‘Regime of Risk’” (March 24, 2022). (Discusses research by Yaneer Bar-Yam that linked peaks in global food prices to outbreaks of social unrest, including a warning just before the 2011 Arab Spring that food price inflation could trigger riots and revolutions.) URL: https://www.vice.com/en/article/scientist-who-predicted-arab-spring-skyrocketing-wheat-prices-are-creating-a-global-regime-of-risk
13. Prison Policy Initiative URL: https://www.prisonpolicy.org/blog/2017/03/03/prison-food/
14. Minnesota DOC is very transparent in their food program. URL: https://mn.gov/doc/about/menus-and-nutrition/
- https://www.themarshallproject.org/2015/07/07/what-s-in-a-prison-meal
- dietaryguidelines.gov
- who.int
- https://sanquentinnews.com/growing-research-shows-impact-of-poor-nutrition-on-prison-violence/
- https://sanquentinnews.com/growing-research-shows-impact-of-poor-nutrition-on-prison-violence/
- https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/document/docs/default-source/senate-budget-office-document-library/appropriations/2023/fy23a_house_public_safety_and_criminal_justice.pdf?sfvrsn=50697d6a_2#page=7
- https://www.sos.arkansas.gov/uploads/rulesRegs/Arkansas%20Register/2014/dec2014/006.26.14-001.pdf
- https://sanquentinnews.com/growing-research-shows-impact-of-poor-nutrition-on-prison-violence/
- https://filtermag.org/georgia-prison-budget-commissary/
- https://history.nih.gov/pages/viewpage.action?pageId=8883184
- https://history.nih.gov/pages/viewpage.action?pageId=8883184
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7551402/
- https://www.governing.com/archive/gov-private-food-service-prisons-aramark-trinity-ohio-michigan.html
- http://www.atticaisallofus.org/history
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- https://www.prisonlegalnews.org/news/2010/apr/15/food-problems-contribute-to-riot-at-kentucky-prison/
- https://www.history.com/news/bread-french-revolution-marie-antoinette
- https://www.vice.com/en/article/scientist-who-predicted-arab-spring-skyrocketing-wheat-prices-are-creating-a-global-regime-of-risk
- https://sanquentinnews.com/growing-research-shows-impact-of-poor-nutrition-on-prison-violence/
- https://sanquentinnews.com/growing-research-shows-impact-of-poor-nutrition-on-prison-violence/
- https://www.prisonpolicy.org/graphs/foodcosts.html
- https://sanquentinnews.com/growing-research-shows-impact-of-poor-nutrition-on-prison-violence/
