Following a directive from Florida Gov. Charlie Crist to the state’s Department of Corrections, inmates will soon be able to sign onto a kosher food plan supervised by the Bal Harbour-based Aleph Institute.
Aleph to Bring Kosher Food to Florida Prisoners
The South Florida Reception Center, a state prison in Miami, will soon offer kosher food to its inmates.
Following a directive from Florida Gov. Charlie Crist to the state’s Department of Corrections, inmates will soon be able to sign onto a kosher food plan supervised by the Bal Harbour-based Aleph Institute.
According to department spokeswoman Gretl Plessinger, the partnership with the Aleph Institute, a Chabad-Lubavitch program that caters to the needs of Jewish prisoners and military personnel, represents a new direction for Florida’s prison system. The department is currently putting the final touches on the kosher meal plan and will unveil it on a trial basis at the South Unit of the South Florida Reception Center in Miami.
“The governor’s office had asked us to meet with the Aleph Institute to implement this,” says Plessinger. “By working together, we can offer a high-quality certified-religious diet and at a minimal cost to the department.”
Aleph Institute director Rabbi Menachem Katz says that the development caps an almost 15-year effort in securing kosher food for Jewish inmates in Florida. While “kosher-style” has existed in state prison cafeterias for some time, this will be the first program that benefits from rabbinic supervision.
