Rotten Meat

Shortly after Mecklenburg Receiving Center began its final shut down process in March, our diet here at Lunenburg began to change.  The freezers at Mecklenburg had been well-stocked and the food had to go somewhere.  Lunenburg, less than thirty miles from Mecklenburg, became the main recipient of Mecklenburg’s kitchen closing.

For a few weeks the change was extraordinary.  As with everything else in prison, meals repeat over and over.  The state tells us we are fed a “nutritionally sound” 2500 calorie diet, yet it is heavy (three servings each meal) on starches and carbohydrates and low grade and highly processed meats.  Syrupy, high fructose juice bags are provided each morning as a “fruit substitute”.  Is it any wonder diabetes and high blood pressure ravage almost a third of the compound population?

But, things did look up right after Mecklenburg closed.  We began getting breakfast “hot pockets” with cheese, potatoes and Canadian bacon.  Mesquite and hickory smoked sausage appeared at lunch.  Pork pepperoni, corn dogs, and thick cut pork bologna was served at dinner.  Yes, these were all highly processed meats and probably not the best thing for you to eat (which may explain why I usually eat bean trays almost five nights a week), but it was something different.

It lasted about three weeks.  And then came the rotten meat.  As you can imagine, per day cost for an inmate’s meal must be kept low.  Gravy of some hue is given at almost every meal.  Potatoes likewise appear on every tray.  Meat is usually low grade, a combination of four parts ground chicken to one part ground beef.  It is shaped into burgers which cook up gray.  Or, it is scooped into meatloaf wedges (also called Salisbury steak).  And, it is left loose in pasta dishes from Texas hash (which has no connection to Texas at all), Chili Mac, Yorkisoba (spaghetti noodles and meat).  All these dishes, with the 80/20 mix, while not mom’s home cooking, are edible.

That all changed.  Mecklenburg had low grade “mechanically separated “ground turkey.  What is “mechanically separated”?  Imagine turkeys going through a jet engine.  In principle, the meat (and feathers, fat and skin) being lighter are forced through the rear of the engine.  Bones fall below.  This shredded, compressed amalgam of everything on old Tom Turkey is then forced into cinder block size cubes (five pound blocks).  It is a sickly off grey color with specks of red blood.  And, it smells.  Filler is added as well to “stretch” the cubes use out.

You can always tell when this turkey is being served:  the chow hall stinks of rotting meat and the bean line is out the door.  A pet owner wouldn’t serve his family’s beloved dog or cat this hideous meat mixture.  We’ve had it on at least one tray everyday for almost a month.

A curious thing happened the other day however.  Staff has their own chow hall.  A “perk” of the job is one free meal each shift and subsidized pricing for other meals.  The staff chow hall has a salad bar, ice cream and pre-made sandwiches.  For entrees, they are served the same main course as the population (sided are different and better).  This week, following repeated complaints by the staff, mechanically separated turkey was removed from their chow hall.  Cold cut sandwiches have been substituted until the rotten meat issue is resolved.  The population found out about the staff’s objection to the mystery meat and now a flood of inmate grievances have been filed.

No one’s suggesting we eat steak and get a salad bar (though it sounds delicious!).  But, the state has an obligation to serve at minimum; healthy, safe meals.  When the state takes a person’s freedom away, they must provide at minimum, a set level of care, health and safety.  Budget problems don’t excuse the state’s responsibility.

Tonight is Chili Mac night.  Good news is they’re serving navy beans!