Alternative milks and gluten-free options: menus in Ireland's prisons overhauled

Limerick Prison. Inmates at the country’s 12 institutions are served three meals a day, including breakfast, dinner and tea. Picture: Dan Linehan

Low fat, low salt, low sugar and gluten-free is the name of the game when it comes to the new food offerings on the menus of the country's prisons.

Prisoners across the country can expect a wide range of modern meals while behind bars after the Irish Prison Service completed a major review of the system's prisons. The Irish Prison Service told the Irish Examiner the move was made to allow for more food choices and to accommodate different eating habits and dietary requirements.

A spokesperson said the inmates at the country’s 12 institutions are served three meals a day, including breakfast, dinner and tea. Some of the prison meals include chicken curry with rice, as well as more traditional fare, like coddle, and bangers and mash.

Teatime meals range from egg mayonnaise to fish and chips, as well as vegetarian lasagnas. Cereals, fresh milk, and alternative milks are also available while there is also a wide range of desserts and snacks such as yoghurt, cheese and fresh fruit.

A spokesperson for the Irish Prison Service said: “In closed male prisons, inmates eat in their cells, however, in our open centres, the new female accommodation at Limerick Prison and the Training Unit, prisoners can avail of communal dining.

“Prison kitchens operate to the highest standards in terms of management of food hygiene and the produce used.”

With the growing number of people switching to plant diets, the prison service said: “The guidance received from dieticians states that the new menu caters for most, if not all, requirements presented by the prison population."

Recent figures from August show there are 4,672 people in custody and the prison service said “requests for alternative diets are subject to procedures”.

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The statement added: “There are specific exceptions to this around religious abstinence from certain foods or certain food processes. The number of persons with dietary needs are recorded at a local level in each prison."

The Irish Prison Service is also promoting “the use of composting and recycling/repurposing of products”. While there is currently no policy on rewilding or biodiversity the system is “supportive of initiatives in this area both within the prison and its surrounding communities”.

There are also small projects at a local level where prisons have embraced biodiversity and rewilding. Plans for more extensive rewilding areas in Loughan House Open Centre and bug hotels are common in many prison horticulture and garden areas.

Arbour Hill Prison in Dublin is also in partnership with Bí Urban and have located a beehive at the front of the prison and are building rainwater harvesting planters for use in the local Stoneybatter area.