 Florida Prisons |  Florida Department of Corrections http://www.dc.state.fl.us/
According to Title 33 of the Florida Administrative Code (http://www.dc.state.fl.us/secretary/legal/ch33/index.html), there is only one non-meat diet option for inmates. People requesting kosher or halal diets are only offered the vegan option, called the "alternate menu/entree." Here is the precise wording of the rule, which you can download in its entirety from the link below:
Religious Diets. The alternate entree program is designed to provide meal options for inmates whose religions require a pork-free, lacto-ovo or lacto-vegetarian diet. The vegan (strict vegetarian) meal pattern provides meal options for the religious requirements of inmates who choose to avoid all animal products. Inmates requesting the vegan meal pattern shall submit an Inmate Request, Form DC6-236, to the food service director at the facility where the inmate is currently housed...
You can download the complete explanation of the Florida Administrative Rule using this link. |
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|  | |  | | The Florida DOC Rules match an Associated Press report of August 2007. The AP report stated that Florida State Prisons are no longer providing kosher/ halal meals to Jewish or Muslim inmates.
As of the writing of the AP report, the Corrections Department had ended the Jewish Dietary Accommodation Program, which provided kosher meals to not only Jews, but to Muslims as well, because the state prison system did not offer halal food. Cost and fairness were cited as factors.
"We have 100 faiths represented by DOC inmates, so it would be impossible to satisfy everyone's preferences and unfair to do it for one group and not another," agency spokeswoman Gretl Plessinger said.
The Corrections Department halted new enrollment in the state's Jewish Dietary Accommodation Program when it had 259 inmates enrolled and another 95 seeking inclusion.
There are about 93,000 inmates in Florida's State Prisons, with an estimated 3.7 percent Muslim and 2.2 percent Jewish.
Read the August 2007 Associated Press article on the Florida DOC policy changes. |
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