Prisoners Beef About 'Heart-Healthy' Menu

Jan 7, 10:25 am ET

OKLAHOMA CITY (Reuters) - Prisoners at a northern Oklahoma prison were
locked in their cells after they beefed about a new, low fat "heart-healthy"
menu by boycotting the cafeteria, officials said on Tuesday.
The prisoners remained locked up over the weekend at the Cimarron
Correctional Facility, a privately run prison, because they objected to
meals that take ground beef out of some dishes and replace it with lower fat
ground turkey, said Linda Hurst, the prison's programs manager.
"As a precautionary measure, we locked them down to investigate if there was
anything more serious than a boycott," Hurst said.
Hurst said the situation at the prison was not volatile and prisoners
returned to the cafeteria on Monday.
The typical dinner menu may include turkey meatloaf, mashed potatoes, gravy
and peas. "The meatloaf is where the heart-healthy diet comes in," she said.
Hurst said the new menus have been used for a few months in order to reduce
the fat in prisoners' diets. Some of the inmates said they would rather not
eat than take another bite of turkey loaf.
The Cimarron Correctional Facility, with about 900 inmates, is operated by
the Corrections Corporation of America.
A spokesman for the Oklahoma prison system said it has no plans to introduce
heart-healthy meals for its prisons state-wide.