“Feed them, protect them, give them what they want”: exploring food as an occupational stress in Canadian federal penitentiaries.

In prior punishment studies, researchers examining food in prisons focused on incarcerated people’s experiences with food insecurity, food nutrition, and access to food, some even connecting food to deprivations as per the “pains of imprisonment” . Others have studied the evolving expectations that correctional officers (CO) care and deliver care to incarcerated people who rely on COs to meet their basic needs (food, clothing, shelter). We, in this article, analyzed interviews with federal COs (<italic>n</italic> = 101) to reveal how food can become a source of stress for COs in ways remarkably similar but starkly different than how food can stress a prisoner. Departing with the knowledge that COs are responsible for the reproval and supervision of food for incarcerated people within the penitentiary food system. The food system, in turn, affects COs’ abilities to access, produce, and consume their own food while overseeing food delivery, supervision, and reproval among imprisoned people. Policy considerations and recommendations are suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]