Group demands cutting soda pop to Oregon prisoners

SALEM -- Oregon Corrections Department officials said Monday they're trying to wean inmates from soda pop with their meals, but a conservative group says it's time to cut prisoners off of their free Coke.

A new group, Common Sense for Oregon, awarded the state prison system its inaugural "Oregon Golden Fleece Award" for spending $773,000 on soda pop for inmates.

"It's real simple," said Ross Day, the group's executive director. "Do people want that money to go state troopers or teachers or whomever, or do they want a prisoner to sit down and have a Coke and a smile?"

Corrections spokeswoman Liz Craig said the department has an exclusive contract with Coca-Cola to provide soda pop to the 14,000 inmates in the prison system. She said that, depending on the institution, inmates have a choice of between four and six Coca-Cola products, including Diet Coke, Sprite and Coca-Cola Cherry.

However, Craig said that for both budgetary and health reasons, the department launched a program a year ago to reduce access to soda pop in prison dining halls. In the past, soda was generally available at lunch and dinner. Now, for example, the bubbly is only flowing at dinner at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility. And at the Oregon State Correctional Institution, where many inmates are close to their release dates, soda is offered at only one meal a week.

Craig said the state will cut its spending on soda by more than half in the next budget cycle as each institution implements its own soda reduction plan. She said corrections did not want to cut off access to soda abruptly because food is used as a "management tool" to improve inmate behavior.

Craig said inmates can get refills, but she said they use small cups, making it difficult to get as much as the equivalent of a 12-ounce can of soda in the time they have to eat....