ABSTRACT
This chapter describes and explicates the foodways of a prison for women in the United States, as described by a sample of women who had recently been incarcerated in this space. It goes on to map foodways that are less visible and illicit, including hoarding and smuggling behaviours, activities and negotiation related to food sold in the prison store, and the intricacies of cell cooking. Data for the chapter come from semi-structured interviews conducted with 30 women who had been incarcerated at the same women's state prison in a North-eastern region of the United States. The chapter assembles women's narratives to construct a foodways map of the US correctional institution in which they were incarcerated. The primary food-ways in this space were the cafeteria and commissary. Researchers and students of prison life are encouraged to use this map as a model for charting the correctional facilities in their own communities.
