Respect the right to nutritious food
Reality
Some countries feed all of their detainees, regardless of the particular place of detention (PoD) that they are in. Others feed those in prisons but not police stations. A few don’t feed any of their detainees. If they are not fed by the state, detainees have to hope that their family & friends bring them food or send them money to buy food. And in some cultures, detainees held in communal cells try to share food with each other. Regardless, across the world right now, hundreds of thousands if not millions of detainees are hungry. Some are a bit hungry. Others are ravenous. Some are literally starving to death. How awful must this be?
Rule
Every prisoner shall be provided by the prison administration at the usual hours with food of nutritional value adequate for health and strength, of wholesome quality and well prepared and served.
NMR 22(1)
Response
Government funding of feeding within places of detention (PoD) is outside of our control. But there are some things that we can do to help…
Respect
Fresh ingredients about to be prepared
Document: we put up posters about NMR 22(1) and the health benefits of nutritious food, and we code patients’ medical notes if they have suffered as a result of non-compliance with this NMR.
Demonstrate: we run a feeding program, serving freshly cooked, nutritionally-balanced hot meals. And in mid-2024 we converted this program to being eco-friendly…
Discuss: we talk about why good nutrition is essential for human wellbeing. And we praise officials who make their own efforts to improve detainees’ nutritional status.
“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?… or in prison and go to visit you?’ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
Matthew 25:37-40