As we prepare for Thanksgiving later this week — a time when so many of us will gather around abundant tables — it feels especially fitting to reflect on the far-reaching impact of our ongoing Eating Behind Bars book tour. From Washington, D.C. to Los Angeles, California and beyond, we’ve been overwhelmed by the outpouring of support we’ve received for the book, and deeply inspired by the important conversations the book is sparking from coast to coast.
Released last month, Eating Behind Bars: Ending the Hidden Punishment of Food in Prison exposes how our prison food system functions — and, more importantly, invites the public into a conversation that has been missing from the broader food justice movement for far too long.
Last month, we kicked things off in Washington, D.C. at Busboys and Poets, where our Food in Prison team, including author Leslie Soble, joined Daniel Rosen, formerly incarcerated food-justice leader at the Coalition for Carceral Nutrition. Together, they unpacked the massive scale of the problem, and spelled out what real transformation of food behind bars could look like. Watch the recording here.
In Los Angeles, visionary, author, and founder of A New Way of Life Re-Entry Project Susan Burton joined us on stage at Village Well for a powerful discussion about how prison food shapes the lives of millions of incarcerated people, families, and communities — especially women and women of color.
In San Francisco, our partners at Farming Hope hosted an evening of good food and deeply personal dialogue with formerly incarcerated kitchen Apprentices, staff, and food-justice advocates. Panelists testified to the power of food in their own lives as both a tool of punishment while incarcerated, and as a source of dignity, healing, and reclamation after release.
Eating Behind Bars has catalyzed an important dialogue — but it’ll take all of us to make this more than just a moment. As we look ahead to 2026, we’re committed to taking the conversation about food justice in our nation’s jails and prisons even further; and we’re looking forward to bringing you with us.
