State prisons: food.

Assembly Member Ortega's prison food reform measure would establish new requirements for vending machine pricing and nutritional standards across California state correctional facilities. The legislation directs the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to align vending machine food prices with average retail costs in surrounding communities.

The bill creates a framework for improving food quality in state prisons through two main mechanisms. First, it requires the department to incorporate existing research on the relationship between junk food consumption and obesity when making decisions about prison food offerings. Second, it establishes guidelines promoting the availability of fresh, nutritious options in prison vending machines while encouraging procurement from local agricultural producers.

This measure would affect multiple stakeholders within the corrections system. The department would need to implement new pricing monitoring systems and develop relationships with local food suppliers. Vending machine operators would adjust their pricing structures to match community rates. Local farmers and food producers could gain new institutional customers through the bill's sourcing provisions.