Why Prison Vegetarian Project?

It is not easy for most people in prison to receive vegetarian food.

People in prison request vegetarian diets because it is part of their spiritual practice, part of their health practice, or a personal preference. Many prisons, however, require that an inmate prove that a special diet is required by an accepted religion before approving a request for vegetarian meals.

The process for requesting and obtaining special diets - including vegetarian, vegan, kosher, and halal - varies, depending on the prison where a person is located. (See the section on Prison Regulations by Jurisdiction for details on different prison systems.)

Prison Vegetarian Project has helped many people in prisons throughout the country advocate for and receive vegetarian diets. We work with the person, his/her clergy, and other clergy people to present evidence to prison authorities that vegetarian diets are, in and of themselves, part of a viable and sincere religious practice.

If you know of somebody in prison who you think would be interested in switching to a vegetarian diet, please use the CONTACT link. Let us know the person's name and address, as well as your name and address. We will contact this person on your behalf, send them literature about vegetarian lifestyles, and ask if our assistance could be helpful to them in arranging for a vegetarian diet.

Our History

Prison Vegetarian Project began informally. A few friends had been exchanging letters with people in prison who were studying and practicing meditation. These friends in prison would sometimes write to us about how they were trying to get vegetarian food, and would also write to us about the problems they were having. We started to write letters of support to prison administration and gradually started to hear from new people in prison who wanted help. And a project was born.

We get many letters from people who requests for vegetarian food are refused by prison administration because, they are told, they do not belong to a religion that "requires" vegetarianism. Our efforts have been to support all requests for vegetarian diets, and to also encourage people in prison to see vegetarian practice as part of their spiritual path.