Coyote Ridge inmates on hunger strike in protest of cold breakfasts
Feb 13, 2019, 1:33 PM
You don’t often hear the words “prison protest” and “muffins” in the same story, but here we are. Inmates at the Coyote Ridge Corrections Center are refusing meals in protest of the limited prison menu offerings, which for years has included cold muffins, as well as items like cereal, protein bars, and juice.
“On the sympathy scale of 1-10, what is this? Negative 400 or negative 300?” joked KIRO Radio’s John Curley. “Go on strike for something other than muffins, that’s what I say.”
The strike began Feb. 1 and continued through this week at the prison facility in Connell, Franklin County, where approximately 2,065 inmates are held, reports The Seattle Times. This isn’t the first time such a protest has been held in Washington. Last year inmates at Walla Walla’s Washington State Penitentiary also refused meals in protest of the food quality.
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Coyote Ridge is one of numerous local prisons which moved to cold breakfasts in recent years. In 2013, Governor Jay Inslee released an executive order to promote healthy food at state prisons, and the recent pair of protests may be an indicator that the state Department of Corrections (DOC) has not completely complied. For his latest proposed budget, Inslee set aside $2.78 million to return hot breakfasts to a few local prisons, including Coyote Ridge.
Beyond health concerns, the strike raises the issue of comfort versus punishment, and whether elements like hot meals and healthy food are necessary to maintaining a smoothly-running prison.
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“The idea is if it’s good for the overall running of the prisons and the prison wardens, then that may be the best way to tamp down any kind of upset,” said KIRO Radio’s Tom Tangney. “So you don’t have something as extreme as a riot.”
Should the hot breakfasts return under the proposed budget, the spread would include items like an egg and cheese breakfast sandwich, potatoes, oatmeal, and a piece of fruit.
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