2022 THANKSGIVING MEAL AT THE ISCC WAS (BY ALL ACCOUNTS) THE WORST IN MORE THAN 20 YEARS

As veteran readers of this site are certainly aware, when it comes to Thanksgiving, I always find things I am thankful for - even in my current surroundings - but the Thanksgiving meal served at the ISCC this year is not one of them. (Actually, that's not entirely true - I am thankful for what I received, and there are those who have it worse than I had/have it, and many have nothing, but you get the point)

While the traditional turkey fare was replaced by pork (see the post IDOC PRISONERS WON'T EAT TURKEY THIS THANKSGIVING - TURKEYS REJOICE! on this site) the problem wasn't that. Even though the particular unit/tier where I am housed was first served, the food was cold, wet, coagulated and tasteless. While the menu called for specific amounts of each item, the portions actually provided fell far short of what the menu indicated was to be served, and the food felt (and tasted)... somehow... old and seemingly sad.

Additional issues arose where inmates who put the food in the Styrofoam trays doused the long stainless steel food prep counters with water (and sometimes a bit of soap) so the foam trays will slide easier as they are filled assembly line style. When workers slop the food portions into the tray (often missing the tray - in part or completely) the errant remnants mix with the water, making a hellish slurry that, when the inmates quickly and carelessly shove the trays through it, slops up and into the tray, saturating the food. Of course, the outside of the trays then are covered with the slimy brew, and when stacked, leak down onto the trays and into the food below.

According to inmate food service workers, this is the norm, holiday or not. Indeed, workers relate that gloves are not changed, the trays are not wiped off, and the prep counters are never cleaned or dried throughout the process of plating up the food for a specific meal, or between meal types (vegetarian, vegan, non-pork, etc.), though more water/soap is often added to help hydrofoil the trays down the line.

Thanksgiving day breakfast was a bust as well, with ISCC prisoners being served some sort of (special) doughy cookie bar slathered with what seemed to be a wet sugar icing and a paper-thin slice of some sort of [turkey?] sausage (inmates on non-pork diets were informed that it wasn't pork anyway), though the pint of cold milk (half a pint of chocolate, half a pint of regular) did hit the spot.

The "lunch" was a 2 day old bun, and a leaking container with a mixed glob of peanut butter and jelly. Lunch served on Thursdays normally consists of peanut butter/jelly, bread, fresh vegetables, and fruit. The consensus is that [we] would have been better off having been served the food items on the regular menu rather than the "special" Thanksgiving meal, as we would have received more food overall, and it certainly would have tasted better.

Old bread baked without seasoning does not a stuffing make, nor does a meal make (or break) the thankfulness one can feel for people, opportunities and to some extent things in one's life, but when expectations are raised - only to be dashed by pure laziness and lack of any effort to make things better than the fare what would have been served on any other Thursday, attitudes of those affected change - and usually for the worse.

If you have information on how the Thanksgiving meal went for your incarcerated friend or loved one (good or bad), please share the experience by posting it in the Comments section below.