Prison quits serving lunches 3 days

PLAINFIELD, Ind. (AP) -- - An Indiana prison no longer serves lunches to inmates on Fridays and weekends in what it says is an efficiency move designed to free up more time for classes and recreation.

The Plainfield Correctional Facility west of Indianapolis went the reduced meal schedule last month, and spokesman Kevin Mulroony says it hasn't received many complaints. He says two square meals a day provides 2,500 calories, the same as three meals.

But lawmakers and a civil libertarian are concerned. Republican Mike Delph of Carmel chairs the state Senate's corrections subcommittee. He says denying food or cutting back on meals to prisoners is beneath the dignity of the state of Indiana.

Elizabeth Alexander of the American Civil Liberties Union's National Prison Project says eliminating lunches created a long gap between meals.
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Information from: The Indianapolis Star, http://www.indystar.com