The kitchen that provides food for Willie Manning and other Unit 29 inmates in Parchman prison, Mississippi, was closed down from July 24 because of its multiple, repeated hygiene breaches.

Among the violations reported were:

-Cornbread baked on dirty racks.
-Bread opened and unprotected.
-Roaches crawling up the wall and behind the food tray rack.
-Roaches in the cooler.
-Food stored in kitchen coolers that are out of order
-Food stored on floor under temperature awaiting transport.
-A leak in the ceiling where the food was being prepared.
-Paint peeling from that ceiling.
-Water pooling in the food preparation area.
-Food and chemicals stored in the same area.
-No hand soap in the kitchen bathroom.
-Cats sleeping at the back kitchen entrance.

According to the Corrections Commissioner, Marshall Fisher, the kitchen will reopen next month. Meanwhile, the prison’s Unit 30 kitchen has been responsible for feeding the 1,300 inmates normally fed by the Unit 29 kitchen, on top of the 750 inmates in Unit 30 whom it normally serves. Fisher states that no inmate has missed a meal; however, serving times are longer.

There are also concerns that portion sizes have decreased. The overall Department of Corrections annual budget has decreased by over $27 million since fiscal 2014, despite the clear need for improvements in prison infrastructure and training.

This is just one more challenge for Willie Manning. We wish him the strength to survive.