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If you are working on an APWA-related project, please let us know how you plan to utilize the Archive. We hope to share information about your work with our readers and, whenever possible, with relevant APWA authors.

The APWA is an open access archive. We encourage use of the writings for research, course planning, and projects engaged in examination of the criminal legal system. Reproduction of essays in their entirety infringes on author copyright without their explicit consent from the writers. Please contact us if you plan to reproduce entire essays; we will do our best to put you in contact with the authors for consent, and their compensation for any project that is profit making.

*At this point in the Archive’s growth, it’s important to revisit actions taken to protect privacy when the APWA had fewer resources. For this reason, we are temporarily pulling all essays and poetry under pseudonyms and anonymity to quality check and ensure all identity protecting redactions have been thoroughly applied. The privacy of the writers in the APWA is a top priority, and so is displaying their writing as they wish it to be displayed. We will restore all pieces as soon as we can confirm the highest quality privacy protections.

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When the MDOC yells "CHOW!"
May 17, 2023

When the MDOC yells "CHOW!"

Copeman, Jack S.Michigan
Food service disaster
February 3, 2023

Food service disaster

Patterson, Ennis R.Ohio
Passover
2023

Passover

Harkleroad, JamesFlorida
Improving food service in the MDOC
June 23, 2022

Improving food service in the MDOC

Improving Food Service in the MDOC Despite four years of positive media attention to prison reform, little has changed at the state or federal level. Pie in the sky liberals want to eliminate bail bonds,...
Pirkel, DanielMichigan
Prison food
2022

Prison food

Hann, CarolPennsylvania
Education, a recipe for success
2022

Education, a recipe for success

SPIN
Notes from the pen, 2020 December 2
December 2, 2020

Notes from the pen, 2020 December 2

Notes From The Pen December 02, 2020 By Jacob Keiter On Jan. 4, 2018, 24-year-old Jacob Keiter, from East Hanover Township, was sentenced to five years in federal prison on drug trafficking charges. Keiter reached...
Keiter, Jacob A.Pennsylvania
Food for reform
July 21, 2020

Food for reform

1 APWA DRT Food 44 Food for Reform One might not rate food as a priority reform target, However, food is one of the top issues in daily life in prison that can cause difficulties....
Thomas, David RogerNorth Carolina
Power relations in the culinary arena
March 12, 2020

Power relations in the culinary arena

Cunningham, KareemNew York
How USP Tucson feeds inmates during the Covid-19 pandemic
2020

How USP Tucson feeds inmates during the Covid-19 pandemic

Mason, FrederickArizona
Chronicles of August (Food, glorious food...or lack of)
September 18, 2019

Chronicles of August (Food, glorious food...or lack of)

August 31st 2019 To: American Prison Writing Archive; (The following is my submission; normally I would type it, but USP Tucson has been on an institutional lockdown since Wednesday, August 28th. I have already filled...
Mason, FrederickArizona
Aramark is pimping the GDOC
November 2018

Aramark is pimping the GDOC

Aramark is Pimping the GDOC Greetings World! I am [redacted] Coe; a GDOC's P.O.W.. I'm held captive within the gates of Hays State Prison in Trion, Ga.. This is an establishment for penal infractions and...
King Coe tha GreatGeorgia
Aramark food corporation scandal
July 5, 2018

Aramark food corporation scandal

7/5/18 Aramark Food Corporation Scandal On May 29, 2018, I sent the Aramark Food Corporation a five (5) page notarized affidavit regarding a possible malfeasance (wrong-doing) regarding their services within the MDOC (Michigan Department of...
Mack-Lemdon, Mr. L.Michigan
What really matters
2018

What really matters

Mullikin, S.Colorado
Essay on inmates with contagious diseases, etc. working in FDC chowhalls handling food in violation of state and federal health laws
August 18, 2017

Essay on inmates with contagious diseases, etc. working in FDC chowhalls handling food in violation of state and federal health laws

To: American Prison Writing Archive (APWA) Date: August 18, 2017 Essay on inmates with contagious diseases, etc. working in FDC chowhalls handling food in violation of state and federal health laws. Prior to my March...
Hempstead, HaroldTennessee
Maggots on prison food serving line
July 25, 2017

Maggots on prison food serving line

7/25/2017 Essay #1: Maggots on Prison Food Serving Line I have worked in the kitchen at the South Dakota State Penitentiary, Jameson Annex for close to 3 months and found live maggots on the food...
Bell, ShaneSouth Dakota
Essay on poor food served at the South Dakota State Penitentiary and its effects
June 29, 2017

Essay on poor food served at the South Dakota State Penitentiary and its effects

Essay on poor food served at the South Dakota State Penitentiary and its effects. The food served to prisoners at the South Dakota State Penitentiary is not very nutritious, of poor quality, and usually does...
Bell, ShaneSouth Dakota
Aramark inside the GA. DOC...
March 21, 2017

Aramark inside the GA. DOC...

Aramark Inside the GA. DOC... By: "King" Coe March 21, 2017 We did not know where to begin almost 1 year ago, to write our complaint and indignation of ARAMARK FOOD SERVICE; (from here on...
King Coe tha GreatGeorgia
Chronicles in December
June 2016

Chronicles in December

Mason, FrederickArizona
Food for thought
September 16, 2015

Food for thought

1 Word Count: 2347 B.G. Jacobs New York Food For Thought Lying on an uncomfortable, two-inch vinyl mattress, in a stifling prison cell, I was at peace for the first time in a long time....
Jacobs, B. G.New York
Surviving prison food
July 25, 2015

Surviving prison food

SURVIVING PRISON FOOD Surviving prison is one thing. But surviving prison food? Well, that’s something entirely different. | mean, we all know that prison is full of brutes and bullies, but there’s a solution for...
Enemigo, MikeCalifornia
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If you are working on an APWA-related project, please let us know how you plan to utilize the Archive. We hope to share information about your work with our readers and, whenever possible, with relevant APWA authors.

APWA is an open access archive. We encourage use of the writings for research, course planning, and projects engaged in examination of the criminal legal system. Reproduction of essays in their entirety infringes on author copyright without their explicit consent from the writers. Please contact us if you plan to reproduce entire essays; we will do our best to put you in contact with the authors for consent, and their compensation for any project that is profit making.

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