'Baked slop': Delaware sticks to prison loaf; others end use

Oct. 26, 2016: A nutraloaf, a meal typically given to inmates for misbehavior involving food or bodily waste, sits in front of inmate Kevin Dickens during an interview with The Associated Press at James T. Vaughn Correctional Center in Smyrna, Del. (AP)

SMYRNA, Del. – While other states are gradually moving away from special diets for unruly prisoners, Delaware officials are sticking with their use of what is commonly known as "the loaf."

That's the name given to a mashup of vegetables, bread, rice and other ingredients typically given to inmates for misbehavior involving food or bodily waste.

Pennsylvania replaced the loaf with bagged meals in October, and Maryland's prison chief rescinded its use last month.

But Delaware is sticking with the loaf, serving it to 30 inmates in 2015, and 17 last year.

Meanwhile, state officials have asked a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit filed by a Delaware inmate who says he was "constructively starved" when placed on a loaf diet for five consecutive weeks.

Prison officials say they didn't violate his rights.