At San Quentin Prison, Food Sale Brings Joy, Gratitude

This article was first published by San Quentin News, a newspaper that reports on rehabilitative efforts to increase public safety and achieve social justice from inside San Quentin State Prison. Visit SQN’s website or follow them on Twitter. The article has been lightly edited to add clarity and conform with PJP style rules.

Last fall, San Quentin residents were treated to a special event — a food sale where they could buy delicious food not normally on their menus.

Hundreds of smiling, anxious men lined up for lengthy waits to collect their orders from top administrators and officers in what some say was the largest food sale in San Quentin history.

Warden Ronald Broomfield worked together with five senior administrative personnel to run the event, which started with food delivery trucks around 4 a.m. on Nov. 20.

“I expect my staff to do this for the population. How can I not?” Broomfield said. “You lead from the front. It is good for the management team.”

“Prisoners spent $63,000 with 10% of the profits going to a charity,” said Warden Broomfield.

Project Avary, an agency serving children of the incarcerated, is expected to receive part of the sale proceeds.

Saturday morning fog delayed the food pickup, causing the event to end late that night.

“Management has tried for months to get food sales going,” said Chief Deputy Warden Oak Smith. “Today we had a few hiccups, but we are planning to have food sales every three months.”

Once the fog lifted around 9 a.m., prisoners began lining up on San Quentin’s lower yard to pick up their orders of pizza, chicken, muffins and Philly cheesesteak sandwiches.

A smiling Tyler Lancaster said, “I was the fourth person in line. I thought it was pretty cool. I only waited about 40 minutes for my food.”

Lancaster ordered everything that was available.

“We had a group pizza party where we shared the food with a couple of neighbors,” said Lancaster, “Together we enjoyed the Philly cheesesteaks, chicken meals, muffins and assorted pizzas.”

He added that for him it was a special day because he had the opportunity to share with others the meals provided by his family. He was impressed with the appreciation expressed by his pals who received the food as a gift.

“I am very thankful for my family for making this possible, with the SQ staff for their hard work, and also with Costco employees for preparing the delicious food,” Lancaster said.

“The food received was a stress reliever and a good reward for good behavior with no fights, despite all the postponements,” said Julio Martinez. “I have no complaints. The food was tasty, acceptable to most inmates. I would give the food a 5-star SQ rating.”

Journalism Guild Writer Raymond Torres contributed to this story.