LDE London is proud that so many of our members are making huge strides in changing the dial on some of the big issues in food today. Dames Lucy Vincent and Natalia Middleton work tirelessly for Food Behind Bars, a charity which believes that food has the power to transform lives and is dedicated to transforming the food served in British prisons.
Food Behind Bars works with prisons across England & Wales to improve the lives of those eating the food and support the people making it. Their aim is to positively impact the health and wellbeing of prisoners, by delivering practical food-based education, promoting healthy eating and designing exciting food and drink initiatives.
Recently, Dame Natalia Middleton visited Denmark to see how we in the UK could learn from the systems in place there. A big thank you to her for sharing what the visit meant to her and for the ongoing work at Food Behind Bars.
Learning From Storstrøm Prison
Dame Natalia Middleton
I recently had the opportunity to go to Copenhagen to visit a prison. For many this probably doesn’t sound particularly exciting, but for me it really was. It was my first overseas prison visit and something I’d been thinking about long before I started my role at Food Behind Bars. I had the absolute privilege of visiting Storstrøm prison, a maximum-security prison in Nørre Alslev, and speaking to two people from the Danish Prison Service in Copenhagen.
The main thing that really stood out for me from my trip was that sentenced men in Denmark must cook their own meals, in the well-equipped kitchens on their wings, while those on remand don’t.
Life in Storstrøm Prison
Storstrøm prison also has a little supermarket onsite for the men to visit once or twice a week to purchase their ingredients. The shop offers fresh fruit and vegetables, a large selection of fresh and dried herbs, spices, tinned goods, dried pulses, fresh and frozen meat & fish, drinks and, of course, treats such as ice cream, sweets, biscuits, fizzy drinks and crisps.
Prisoners can also buy different oils and vinegars, eggs, dairy products, soft drinks, protein powders, protein bars, as well as toiletries and laundry bits. It was a fantastic shop, those in prison here in the UK would truly be jealous! The men I spoke to in Storstrøm could not get their heads around the idea of the canteen and service food that we have here in the UK.
The two Danish prison service representatives I met told me that the main ethos of Danish prisons is normalcy, making the prisoners’ lives as similar to that on the outside as possible, to help with rehabilitation and keeping the recidivism rate low. The men must also be in work or some form of education Monday – Friday from roughly 8am – 2pm. After 2pm they have time to rest, cook meals, socialise, make calls, do laundry etc.
All the men I spoke to really enjoyed the “normal life” aspects of the prison, such as being able to shop for their own ingredients, meal plan, budget, cook and eat together and also eat with staff members. One man said cooking his own food had really helped him control his Crohn’s.
Eating in Storstrøm Prison
On my first night visiting Storstrøm I sat around the table on the wing with staff members, wing officers and prisoners. We ate smørrebrød together and chatted about prison life, life outside and enjoyed sharing stories and laughing.
I was chatting with one of the men and he said: “if you treat people like animals, they will act like animals, but if you treat them like human beings, they will act like human beings”. I’m still thinking about this conversation two weeks on and whilst I’ve always treated everyone I’ve met in prison as human beings, this message will always be at the back of mind as a reminder for why we do what we do at Food Behind Bars matters so much.
So Much To Learn From Denmark
I’m really excited to take everything I learned whilst in Denmark from both Storstrøm and from the people I was privileged to talk to from the Danish Prison Service HQ and implement it in our work at Food Behind Bars.
A big thank you to everyone I met, spoke to and who ferried me around Denmark and Copenhagen.