Concurrent Inspections of BOP Food Service Operations

Standards

The DOJ OIG conducted these inspections in accordance with the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency’s Quality Standards for Inspection and Evaluation (December 2020).

Purpose and Scope

The OIG has determined that it can enhance the effectiveness of its oversight, as well as its ability to alert the BOP of concerns, by conducting short-notice and unannounced inspections of BOP institutions, as appropriate. In June 2024, we focused unannounced, concurrent inspections on the administration of food service at six selected institutions given the serious food service-related issues we identified during prior inspections of other institutions.

On Tuesday June 4, 2024, at 10 a.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST), the OIG simultaneously notified all six selected institutions of its intention to begin its inspections by 11 a.m. EST.¹ At the latter time, teams of four OIG employees each simultaneously initiated on-site inspections at the selected institutions. The inspections were conducted through Thursday, June 6.

Our scope was the state of food service operations at the time of our inspections, although, for certain portions of our analysis our scope included roughly the year that preceded our inspections, beginning in 2023. We also considered information, provided by the BOP after the inspections, that described BOP efforts to address the issues we identified during the inspections.

Methodology

We selected U.S. Penitentiary (USP) McCreary, Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) Marianna, Federal Correctional Complex (FCC) Pollock, Metropolitan Correctional Center (MCC) Chicago, FCC Allenwood, and FCI Mendota for inspection based on their relative scores from the OIG’s prison inspection risk assessment tool, as well as the volume and nature of complaints submitted to the OIG regarding institution operations. To better understand the administration of food service at each of the six institutions, we observed food service operations, interviewed inmates and employees, and reviewed and analyzed relevant food service records.

Observations

The six institutions we inspected housed inmates at all of the BOP security levels, which includes administrative, high, medium, low, and minimum. While on site, we observed food service equipment, food storage warehouses, food preparation and dining areas, and lunch and dinner services. We also recorded temperatures of food served hot. We tested prepared-food temperatures, as well as ambient temperatures in food storage areas, including freezers and refrigerators. Due to the cold temperatures within freezers and refrigerators, the OIG’s temperature measuring equipment was unable to record reliable independent temperature readings. As a result, we had to rely on the internal temperature readings of the BOP’s equipment. Further, we did not perform specialized testing to definitively determine, for example, the potential presence of mold and other hazardous substances. Finally, we reviewed security camera footage to assess Food Service Department operations and to assess the degree to which security cameras provided visual coverage of food service areas.

Interviews

At each of the six BOP institutions, we conducted on-site interviews with inmates who worked for the Food Service Department, inmates housed in general population, inmates housed in restrictive housing, and inmates who received diets based on religious or medical restrictions. We also interviewed Wardens, Associate Wardens, Food Service Administrators, Assistant Food Service Administrators, Facilities Managers, Cook Foremen Supervisors, Warehouse Foremen, Contract Specialists, and other employees responsible for food service operations.

Document Review and Analysis

For each of the six BOP institutions, we reviewed food service-related records, including staffing data, sanitation inspection reports, food purchase orders, funding requests for repair and maintenance of equipment and infrastructure, and employee injury and illness reports.

¹ USP McCreary and FCC Allenwood are located within the EST Zone, and the inspections were initiated at 11 a.m. local time. MCC Chicago, FCC Pollock, and FCI Marianna are located within the Central Standard Time Zone, and those inspections were initiated at 10 a.m. local time. FCI Mendota is located within the Pacific Standard Time Zone, and that inspection was initiated at 8 a.m. local time.

For prior OIG reporting on the BOP’s infrastructure management challenges, see DOJ OIG, Audit of the Federal Bureau of Prisons’ Efforts to Maintain and Construct Institutions, Audit Report 23-064 (May 2023), oig.justice.gov/reports/federal-bureau-prisons-efforts-maintain-and-construct-institutions.

For prior OIG reporting on the BOP’s staffing challenges, see DOJ OIG, Top Management and Performance Challenges Facing the Department of Justice–2022 (December 2022), oig.justice.gov/reports/top-management-and-performance-challenges-facing-department-justice-2022.

For prior OIG reporting on the insufficiency of BOP security camera systems, see DOJ OIG, Management Advisory Memorandum: Notification of Needed Upgrades to the Federal Bureau of Prisons’ Security Camera System, Evaluation and Inspections (E&I) Report 22-001 (October 2021), oig.justice.gov/reports/management-advisory-memorandum-notification-needed-upgrades-federal-bureau-prisons-security.

For the inspection report on Federal Medical Center Devens, see DOJ OIG, Inspection of the Federal Bureau of Prisons’ Federal Medical Center Devens, E&I Report 25-009 (December 2024), oig.justice.gov/reports/inspection-federal-bureau-prisons-federal-medical-center-devens.

For the inspection report on Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) Lewisburg, see DOJ OIG, Inspection of the Federal Bureau of Prisons’ Federal Correctional Institution Lewisburg, E&I Report 24-113 (September 2024), oig.justice.gov/reports/inspection-federal-bureau-prisons-federal-correctional-institution-lewisburg.

For the inspection report on FCI Sheridan, see DOJ OIG, Inspection of the Federal Bureau of Prisons’ Federal Correctional Institution Sheridan, E&I Report 24-070 (May 2024), oig.justice.gov/reports/inspection-federal-bureau-prisons-federal-correctional-institution-sheridan.

For the inspection report on FCI Tallahassee, see DOJ OIG, Inspection of the Federal Bureau of Prisons’ Federal Correctional Institution Tallahassee, E&I Report 24-005 (November 2023), oig.justice.gov/reports/inspection-federal-bureau-prisons-federal-correctional-institution-tallahassee.

For the inspection report on FCI Waseca, see DOJ OIG, Inspection of the Federal Bureau of Prisons’ Federal Correctional Institution Waseca, E&I Report 23-068 (May 2023), oig.justice.gov/reports/inspection-federal-bureau-prisons-federal-correctional-institution-waseca.

For the report that discusses infrastructure issues at MCC New York, see DOJ OIG, Limited-Scope Review of the Federal Bureau of Prisons’ Strategies to Identify, Communicate, and Remedy Operational Issues, E&I Report 23-065 (May 2023), oig.justice.gov/reports/limited-scope-review-federal-bureau-prisons-strategies-identify-communicate-and-remedy.

The OIG provided a draft of this product to the BOP for its comment. The BOP’s response is here. In its formal response, the BOP acknowledged the issues identified in this product and described actions that it has already taken to rectify the findings. The OIG acknowledged many of these efforts in the final product and will continue to include assessments of food service operations as part of future OIG inspections to ensure that issues such as those identified during these inspections are addressed throughout the BOP.