REVIEW OF CHRISTMAS DINNER AT THE ISCC

Christmas dinner - a tradition in many American homes - is never really the same in prison. While there used to be some effort to make holiday meals a bit special for the inmate population, it seems the IDOC, or more specifically the ISCC, is doing the least amount of work possible and is barely squeaking by when it comes to making holiday meals more festive than the normal fare.

The Christmas (2022) dinner menu at the ISCC was as follows:

Roast Pork
Mashed Potatoes
Corn Stuffing
Lettuce Salad w/apple and raisins
Dinner Roll
Yellow Cake w/berry sauce and icing

The bagged lunch consisted of peanut butter, jelly, bread (enough for 2 average sandwiches) and 2 drink packets. Unfortunately the container in which the peanut butter/jelly was mixed was not sealed, and a sticky mess coated the inside of the bag, and everything inside... I just threw it away.

The food served to F block prisoners sat in Styrofoam trays somewhere for quite some time based on the amount of condensation inside the container, and the (cold) temperature of what should have been hot food. According to my observations (what I did and did not see) and what I've been told, the food was served soon after arriving at the unit.

In my tray, there was a decent amount of the roast pork, and despite being tepid in temperature, it actually had great taste and was relatively tender. The (boiled/mashed) potatoes had chunks of semi-cooked potato - but again, except for being cold, I liked them (I myself like the semi-cooked chunks).

The "stuffing" was a completely different story. I'll check this fact with a food service worker before I publish this article, but were I a betting man, I'd wager that the cake and the stuffing were the same, and someone just dumped (whole) corn in the batter, baked it (without any other seasoning) and called it stuffing. Cold and sweet, whoever made it should be embarrassed.

Lettuce salad with apple chunks and raisins, with a touch of some sort of vinegar dressing and sunflower seeds wasn't bad at all, and seemed to stand up to the heat of the other food (when it was hot). The dinner roll would have been much better had it been warm and not covered with condensation dripping from the lid of the tray.

The (yellow) cake wasn't too bad, and had the consistency of a (northern version) cornbread. Not too awful sweet, served in a separate Styrofoam cup with lid, it had some sort of (raspberry?) sauce and icing that saved the day.

Serving sizes were pretty much on par with what was expected, though because there was never a menu posted on the unit, I don't know if the portions were too large, too small or just right.

All in all, it wasn't too bad - and certainly head and shoulders above what was served on Thanksgiving (2022).

Oh, and I failed to mention that breakfast on Christmas day consisted of a cinnamon roll (pretty good size), scrambled eggs and (for the first time I can remember) actual bacon strips, a half pint of white and a half pint of chocolate milk. Normally Sunday breakfast is biscuits and gravy (which is usually pretty good) and a pint of milk.

Overall, I'd give it 3 out of 5 stars for prison holiday food, but as many may already know, it's not just the food that makes a holiday meal great, it's who it's shared with. Against that measure.. well, let's just say I eat alone when I can in here.