How the Correctional Facilities in Örebro and Karlstad Handle the Demand for a Religiously Conditioned Diet. : A Study of the need of Religiously Conditioned Diet in the Prison and Probation Service.

The purpose of this study is to examine the correctional facilities in Örebro and Karlstad, and how they handle the demand for a religiously conditioned diet. Food and drink are perhaps the most central aspects of all people’s lives. Every single person must eat, regardless of health, age and social status. Our wellbeing revolves around food, drink, and the meal preparation. As a result of that the meal throughout history has been covered with various rites in many different cultures, from the saying of prayers to the collective preparation of the food. The meal is intimately connected to religion, both from an institutional perspective but perhaps above all from a purely practical layman's perspective. This report tries to answer how the correctional facilities in Örebro and Karlstad handle the demand for a religiously conditioned diet from three different perspectives. Firstly, from the point of view of the state agency, which is examined by studying the laws and regulations that controls the handling of food in relation to religion. Secondly, from the point of view of those who are preparing the meals who have been interviewed. Thirdly, from the point of view of the inmates who have had the opportunity to answer a survey. Based on the theory of lived religion the essay concludes that the Correctional Services do follow the laws that are set by the Swedish parliament. There is provision of diversified diets which take into consideration religious requirements to an extent that is possible. Additionally, the staff that prepares and handles the food take the religious requirements seriously. The study emphasised the importance of such requirements for inmates. The highest percentage of inmates requesting a religious based diet was between 20 to 25 percent with a diet free from pork