Food plays a vital role in prison life. It influences physical and mental health, behaviour, engagement in purposeful activity and the stability of the wider prison environment. High quality nutrition is central to rehabilitation. It supports concentration, cognitive functioning, physical health and emotional stability, all essential for prisoners to engage in work, education and structured activity.
When HMPPS began a full redevelopment of the 2010 Catering for Prisoners Policy, what began as a technical review evolved into a fundamental rethinking of how food is delivered across the prison estate.
The aim was not only to update, but build a policy that reflects contemporary nutritional science, supports health, wellbeing, responds to legislative change and sets a clear, ambitious direction for prison catering.
Development of the new Food in Prisons Policy Framework involved collaboration with the Department of Health and Social Care, the Health and Safety Executive, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Food Standards Agency and external nutrition experts.
Their insights ensured the policy aligned with Government Buying Standards, reflected the latest evidence-based nutritional recommendations and mirrored wider public sector priorities around health and sustainability.
The 2010 policy focused largely on meals produced in the central kitchen and served on residential wings. The revised Food in Prisons Framework 2026 now covers all food provision in prisons, including self-cook arrangements, meals and refreshment for staff, and food provided to visitors.
It ensures consistency, fairness and a safe, nutritionally-balanced offering across the entire prison estate. By helping prisoners eat well, the policy underpins improved energy levels, better engagement in physical activity, healthier sleep patterns, and progress towards a stable, healthier lifestyle.
Supporting Rehabilitation Through Nutrition
The HMPPS National Food Team offers advice, problem-solving, and hands-on support to help prisons adopt the new policy.
The team is a group of six specialists led by the Head of Prison Food, with a core function to support prison staff to ensure every prisoner has consistent access to safe, nutritious food. The aim is to translate expectations into achievable standards, empowering local catering teams to deliver consistent quality regardless of the size or complexity of the prison.
Leading through partnership
The development of the refreshed Food in Prisons Policy benefitted from the contribution of Al Crisci, MBE an experienced food and catering specialist with decades of service across the prison estate. Al’s background spans nutrition, menu innovation, food safety and public sector catering at scale. His operational insight and commitment to improving food standards helped shape the ambition, structure and direction of the policy.
Policy development was supported by the collective catering and operational expertise across HMPPS and government health colleagues, ensuring the final framework reflects nutritional best practice and the realities of running prison kitchens.
Catering teams also drew on routine feedback from people in prison, ensuring insights from those receiving the service informed the development process. During the development and early engagement phase there were dedicated briefings for governors, regional leadership discussions, targeted question-and-answer sessions to support preparedness.
By combining senior leader engagement with practical support for catering teams, the rollout created a strong foundation for consistent implementation across all establishments and the feedback we received made the point.
Importance of communication and engagement
For colleagues in the wider public sector, the development approach offers valuable, transferable learning. Key points being:
• Early and continuous engagement with frontline practitioners and operational leaders.
• The HMPPS National Food Team co-design of key standards to ensure deliverability and operational clarity.
• Close collaboration with suppliers to anticipate change and manage risk.
• Combining strategic and operational guidance to support both leaders and practitioners.
• Facilitating shared learning through workshops, forums and cross site discussion site discussion.
These principles can be applied widely across government and a range of third‑party organisations engaged in designing or modernising operational policy.
Engagement with our food supplier supported planning for menu changes, identified potential supply chain risks, and identified opportunities for innovation. We ran a series of food workshops to reinforce shared learning, helping establishments adopt approaches that support consistency and quality.
Our catering managers provided insights into the daily realities of prison kitchens, shaping everything from menu guidance to allergen processes. Their feedback ensured the policy is ambitious but grounded in what is realistic.
Since publication, feedback from prisons has been overwhelmingly positive. Many have already introduced more diverse, culturally relevant and nutritionally enhanced menus.
We continue to embed stronger nutritional balance, reduced food waste, improved sustainable purchasing, and increased staff engagement in all menu development.
The new Food in Prisons Policy establishes a modern, reliable and forward-looking framework for food and nutrition across the prison estate. It supports safe, nutritious and sustainable food provision while contributing to a positive cultural shift in how food is valued within a rehabilitative environment.
And it recognises the dedication of our staff and provides them with the clarity, direction, and support they need to deliver a high quality service every day.
Feedback from stakeholders
A prison catering manager commented: “The engagement process ahead of the new food policy demonstrated a genuine commitment to collaboration and continuous improvement. The thoughtful discussions and feedback have laid a strong foundation for successful implementation. The policy has a strong direction on nutrition for prisoners, which will lead to more healthy and nutritious menus.”
At an operational level a prison group director told me: “Our work with the Women’s Group over the past year has been instrumental in shaping a more responsive and gender-informed Food in Prisons Policy. Building on the Future Food Services workshop delivered at HMP/YOI Askham Grange in late 2025, we launched quarterly catering manager meetings to share best practice.
“This has ensured the policy fully reflects the specific needs of women in custody, including nutritional considerations for pregnancy, menopause, and overall wellbeing. The new policy represents a significant step forward in improving food quality, dignity, and nutritional support for women across the estate.”
A prison dietitian added: “The evolution of the Food in Prisons Policy framework to include both food and nutrient based standards, and nutritional analysis of menus is an excellent step to ensuring provision of healthier options.
“My contribution was to collaborate with expert partners - DHSC, Oxford Brookes University, British Dietetic Association Specialist Groups and Diabetes UK - to develop this evidence-based guidance.
“Our goal was to empower catering teams to drive health improvements across the prison estate - including those with additional clinical need and long-term conditions such as diabetes. The true changes come now with better ingredients, menu analysis, staff training, and service-user input changing food culture and making a real impact on health in justice - what a vital journey to be on.”