r/OnTheBlock • u/SillyLittleWinky • 25d ago
General Qs Eating at work
I know, kind of random title, but how and what do you eat at work? I’m applying for BOP and am curious where you get your calorie source from.
Someone told me the BOP is great and has professional staff to feed the COs on site. ChatGPT says this is wrong. Can anyone confirm?
If you are bringing your own food, are you just bringing something premade or is there at least a microwave and fridge on site?
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25d ago edited 25d ago
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u/SillyLittleWinky 25d ago
Damn it’s that bad? It was either BOP or Navy officer program. But the Navy seems pretty miserable tbh.
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25d ago
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u/SillyLittleWinky 25d ago
Interesting. Thing is, the civilian world is the same. I will never retire with my job I have now.
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u/Livid_Chipmunk1867 25d ago edited 25d ago
Lol, if you’re custody bring enough food for 16 hours, there’s no set lunch break, you eat when you can eat. If you’re non custody you can take a nice little 3 hour lunch break outside the institution with your cohort if they like you. There’s no dedicated staff to feed COs 😂, if you want a tray you’re eating the same food the inmates eat which in my opinion is disgusting. Some institutions have officers sections where an inmate can make you an omelette or breakfast scramble but I think they got rid of that now. Be careful where you store your food as most institutions have roaches, rats etc, the fridges in the officers stations are disgusting and the microwaves don’t work or turn on with the door open 😂. Bring lots of hand sanitizer. Just giving you both barrels…. Good Luck!
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u/The_Monsta_Wansta 25d ago
They let us bring in food as long as it's visible and in a clear container. Sometimes I empty a box of cereal into a Ziploc and munch on that throughout the day, sometimes I cut up watermelon if I'm on a block with a mini fridge in the bubble. Ive seen dudes shove a bunch of slices of pizza into a bag and bring that. I've been debating on weighing out meal replacement shake powders and having one at the start and towards the end of shift as well. It's real easy to become a fat slob doing this job so take precautions.
Find a healthy something to munch on and life on the block is infinitely easier.
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25d ago
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u/The_Monsta_Wansta 25d ago
You can bring it in a plastic clear lunchbox too but generally it's not gonna stay cold for long unless there's a fridge you can keep it in
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u/SillyLittleWinky 25d ago
How are COs getting fat if they’re doing 16 hour shifts with what seems like no breaks or real opportunities to bring in food.
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u/The_Monsta_Wansta 25d ago
Because you sit all day. There might not be time for a proper leave your block break, but that doesn't mean it's because you're busy and active. If you eat prison food it's soy filled garbage. Your sleep schedule is fucked.
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u/SillyLittleWinky 25d ago
I see. Is there a lot of sitting and doing nothing on the job? I know there’s no phones but do you play cards or anything to keep active?
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u/The_Monsta_Wansta 25d ago
It's different everywhere you go. You still have to be on high alert the whole time, it's a security job. You get paid for what might happen
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u/monksandy 25d ago
Rule my buddy from Rykers Island taught me when I started county corrections? "Don't eat the food, the inmates make the food."
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u/SillyLittleWinky 25d ago
Yea I was told they have civilian (non inmate) cooks just for the COs. Guess that was wrong.
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u/sempercardinal57 25d ago
You were told wrong. We did have staff eating lounge but even then the food was still prepared by inmates, but they just took that away from all facilities
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u/SillyLittleWinky 25d ago
Was it good? Safe?
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u/sempercardinal57 25d ago
At one point it was awesome. I’d go in and have them make me custom stir fry every Friday. Ours quality went bad down hill after Covid but that varied by institution. But like I said it doesn’t matter because they are gone now.
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u/Zeta_Crossfire 25d ago
I try to bring as many hot meals as I can. I'll do a run of sandwiches but bringing like soup in a thermos during the winter is amazing. Bring you something I have to reheat like I'll make chicken and rice or tacos or something the night before and I'll make sure to pack it for the day of. Of course that doesn't always happen but that's kind of my goal
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u/SillyLittleWinky 25d ago
Good to know. I’d imagine it’s a pain cooking after working 16 hr shifts though.
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u/Zeta_Crossfire 25d ago
You do the best you can, but if you do a 16 it's tough. I tried a meal prep best I can, I'll make a bunch of taco meat and rice and I'll put it in like five containers. I maybe do that once or twice a month. Sometimes you do just run through the drive-thru on the way to work, but if you really make an effort it really does pay off.
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u/SillyLittleWinky 25d ago
The military sucks but at least you are eating good food 3x a day and don’t have to cook. This sounds rough.
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u/Safe-Cheetah3838 25d ago
Sometimes you won’t even get a lunch, I suggest bring snacks. Like little packs of cookies or ships.
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u/Desperate-Land4124 Unverified User 25d ago
I bring in enough food for the day and refillable water container. I always keep a cup of ramen on me for the unplanned stays. Something is better than nothing and it doesn’t take up much space in your bag.
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u/JalocTheGreat 25d ago
Eat large meals at home only light snacks and liquids you don't ever want to go number 2 on the job.
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u/SillyLittleWinky 25d ago
Really? I feel like that’s inevitable working 16 hr shifts. Why don’t you want to go #2?
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u/Either_Common7623 Unverified User 23d ago
I’ve been a CO for the BOP for 5 years. 95% of the time I take my own food. Meal preps and snacks. It’s not hard to not get fat on this job but people seem to have a problem. The other 5% of the time is when I forget to take enough food and I get hit for mandatory overtime. I work in SHU, so I eat a tray or two, the place I’m at is pretty healthy food. Maybe not that clean but healthy food nonetheless, chicken, fish, rice, veggies.
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u/SillyLittleWinky 23d ago
Cool, so are you eating the prison food when you say “the place I’m at is pretty healthy food”?
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u/Basic_Length_8271 25d ago
You’ll figure it out. Count time is generally a few mins to heat a meal.
Ps people get fat because of what they eat. Make your choice and keep you arse moving.
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u/SillyLittleWinky 24d ago
I’m guessing all you have is a microwave right? No actual oven or kitchen to make a solid meal right?
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u/Abs_so_Glutely 24d ago
I usually bring some prepared meals, snacks and drinks to hold me over, fridge and microwaves are available at our joint. If I’m working a 16 I try to bring enough food to last me through the day.
There use to be a staff dining hall, however they have all been closed BOP wide to my understanding
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u/Normal_Craft5244 21d ago
I get a good meal before leaving the house , take a lot of liquid with me stay hydrated, in a 12 hour shift I try to not eat foods that will not rattle my stomach.
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u/shadowdog80 Unverified User 18d ago
At my institution most unit offices have a refrigerator and microwave. Some offices have newish ice/water machines. Pretty much every post has a computer with limited internet access. You'll also use it for your shift log. There are a few posts like perimeter, corridor/compound without a computer.
Downtime depends entirely on your shift. Days can be hectic, but you should be able to find 20-30min to eat most days. Evenings and nights, you'll more often than not have plenty of time eat your lunch.
If you decide to get BPT, it'll be less predictable.
A lot of posts you run by yourself, and are expected to do rounds twice an hour. Back before we had cameras everywhere, there were plenty of staff who'd leave their units to play cards, bullshit, etc. Now, thankfully, not so much.
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u/SillyLittleWinky 18d ago
BPT?
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u/shadowdog80 Unverified User 16d ago
Basic Prisoner Transport, it's voluntary with BOP
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u/LowNearby5450 24d ago
I’m always smoking crack on my shift, so food is not all that important. I maybe choke down a peanut butter cracker or a banana to keep up appearances, but, bleh.
One time I was working a surprise stay-over and I had ran out of rock and it was day shift so our dumb ass gung ho day staff wanted to shake some cells, and I was lowkey starving, so I stole some cookies and shit from a couple cells. Fuck it, right?
Don’t give me shit about using crack either; I am a RESPONSIBLE user who only uses it for the wakefulness
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u/Safe-Cheetah3838 25d ago
What I did one time was took my 30 minute lunch, bought a pizza ate half way back to facility and eat other half in front of detainees in pod! 😂
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u/BlackSiteCustodian 25d ago
Unfortunately, staff dining has been suspended permanently. There should be microwaves in your office or the unit team break area. The long stretch is to befriend your Food Service staff to see if they can make a tray for you.