This report examines privatized food service in prisons and jails, focusing on Aramark. Because of the company’s outsized role in privatized carceral food service nationwide, we sought to better understand food service conditions in Aramark-managed facilities to identify opportunities for improvement that could have widespread impacts. Across three methods—a review of publicly available documents, key informant interviews, and a litigation analysis—our findings indicate that privatization may exacerbate harms, raising questions about accountability and value of food service management companies in carceral settings.
