Ruling Returns Kosher Meals to Florida Inmates

A federal judge has ordered the Florida prisons service to provide kosher meals to all prisoners with a “sincere religious basis” by July 1.

The Florida Department of Corrections canceled its kosher meal service six years ago, citing the expense and has since promised to reinstitute its kosher meal service in all its facilities. It has been dragging its heels, and kosher meals are offered at only one state prison.

The U.S. government last August sued the corrections department in the Miami federal court for ending the kosher service. It argued that the current meal policy violates the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000 that allows prisoners to worship according to their religious beliefs.

An average of 250 inmates used the kosher meal service, including Muslims.