It's the chosen favorite among college kids and inmates across America.

這是全美境內大學生及受刑人最喜歡的食物

Check usage reports from the Massachusetts Department of Corrections for example, and you'll see that ramen was the number one sold item at prison commissaries.

以麻省矯正署的使用數據來看，你可以看到泡麵是在監獄的福利社是銷售量第一的商品

Ramen has become like cash among American prisoners.

「泡麵」在受刑人之間，儼然已成為「現金」

Because behind bars, it can buy you anything.

因為在監獄裡，什麼都可以用「泡麵」來買

Anything that's got any value.

任何有價值的東西

From clothes, drugs, a favor.

從衣物到毒品，甚至是一件差事

Hey, I like the way your penmanship is, can you write this letter for me, can you draw this for me,you know anything.

嘿，我喜歡你的字體，你可以幫我寫這封信嗎？可以幫我畫這個嗎？什麼都通用

It's literally gold.

就像「黃金」一樣

After 13 years in and out of prison, he literally wrote the book on Prison Ramen.

在進出監獄 13 年後，他甚至寫了一本書叫《監獄拉麵》(Prison Ramen)

Ramen is the best and easiest currency because everybody uses it.

泡麵是最好也最方便的「貨幣」，因為大家都在用

That's everybody's staple to cook. You gotta have ramen.

這是大家都會煮的一道菜。泡麵是一定要有的

Because prisoners can't possess cash, they use objects to trade for other goods and services…

因為在獄中不能持有現金，所以受刑人們用物品來換取商品或是服務

And anything that replaces cash has to be durable, portable, divisible into standardized units and highly valued.

而任何取代現金的物品都必須是耐用的 (保存期限長)，要具有可整除性的單位並且是有價值的

Ramen fits the bill, because unlike other traded objects like stamps- which are expensive, and tobacco- which is banned in most prisons, ramen is cheap and easy to get a hold of.

泡麵就符合這個標準，因為相較於其他單位的物品像是高單價的糧食券及被大部分監獄禁止的菸草，泡麵相對便宜也較易取得

In the commissary, a single pack of ramen runs about $.59 on average.

在福利社，一包泡麵平均售價大約為 59 分美元

But, once it's out of the official commissary, ramen's value is determined by an informal prison economy.

但一旦從福利社售出後，泡麵的價值就取決於監獄中私下的經濟及消費情況了

They barter with it, they become jailhouse stores so to speak, like guys would purchase all the ramen, kind of like that scene in Orange Is The New Black.

他們以物易物，各自經營著自己的監獄生意，就像在影集《勁爆女子監獄》中，他們把所有泡麵買光的那一幕一樣

She took over the market.

他掌握了整個市場

Jesus, who bought all the ramens?

「天啊，到底是誰買光了所有的泡麵？」

Guys fill up their shelves with this and they have their own store.

大夥把櫃子塞滿泡麵後，就可以擁有自己的小生意了

And they put their price on it.

然後價錢也是他們自己訂

Your ramen could sell for two to three dollars believe it or not.

這一包泡麵就可以賣到一包 2~3 美元，信不信由你

A 2016 study found that while a sweatshirt cost $10.81 at the commissary at Sunbelt State Penitentiary, an inmate could sell that sweatshirt for 2 packs of ramen, increasing the value of ramen by 916 percent.

一項 2016 年的研究發現在 Sunbelt 省立感化院的福利社裡，一件長袖運動衫的售價為 10.81 美元，而受刑人可以以兩包泡麵的價格將運動衫賣出，這讓泡麵的價前飆漲了 916%

In fact, food items are the overwhelming majority of what people buy.

事實上，食物品項在大家所購買的所有項目中占最大的一部份

An analysis of annual commissary sales in three states shows that 75% of spending was entirely on food and beverages.

從一項三個州的年度福利社業績數據分析可看出，大約 75% 的消費都是在食物和飲品上

Inmates aren't just using ramen as cash; they are also eating it.

受刑人不只將泡麵當成現金，他們也會吃泡麵

Creative cooking in prison is a necessity.

監獄中的「創意料理」是一個必須

When asked if prison meals were enough to live off of, Alvarez said. No, I think you would starve. literally.

當我們問獄中提供的膳食是否吃得飽時，Alvarez 告訴我們：「不夠，我覺得你會餓死，真的。」

I lost like ten pounds you know because they give you a meal that's maybe for a five-year-old, a 10 year old.

我瘦了大概 10 磅，因為他們給的份量大概只夠 5 或 10 歲的小朋友吃

But it wasn't up to par.

但它沒有達到標準

It wasn't your four food groups, it was none of that.

它沒有均衡的營養，完全沒有」

So ramen can supplement when the food provided isn't enough.

所以泡麵可以在監獄裡提供的食物不夠吃時派上用場

With 2.3 million people in US prisons, and pressure to cut costs, food is one area where federal and state governments are trying to save money.

由於美國監獄系統裡有近 230 萬的受刑人，政府必須開源節流，而食物是聯邦和州際政府減少開銷的其中一塊

Some inmates are now being fed for as little as $1.77 a meal.

有些受刑人現在一餐的成本最低只有 1.77 美元

In one instance, the Marshall Project reported one prison that had whittled down costs to as low as $.56 a meal.

某次，The Marshall Project 曾指出某間監獄，甚至將受刑人一餐的的花費縮減至 56 分美元

But keeping food costs low doesn't come without consequences.

但是把一餐的開銷降低，可不是完全沒有後果的

Aramark, a private food vendor to over 600 correctional facilities, has been cited for giving inmates tainted food and serving fewer and smaller meals.

Aramark ，一間供貨給超過 600 間監獄的私人食物供應商，就被舉出供應受刑人受汙染的食物，並減少了餐點供應的次數及份量

New information tonight about ongoing problems with maggots found in Ohio prison kitchens.

「今晚為您帶來關於俄亥俄州監獄廚房持續燃燒的「染蛆事件」。」

Issues like this with Aramark and other private food vendors have prompted civil lawsuits and protests in response to the state of food.

像 Aramark 和其他的私人食物供應商的問題，造成了許多民事上的訴訟官司及遊行抗議，為的是要反映食物供應的狀況

Turns out food isn't just about nutrition; it's also about security.

結果發現，食物不僅只是日常所需的營養，它也是「安全和穩定」

Despite everything ramen has become a way inmates keep a sense of control while in the system.

不管怎麼樣，泡麵以儼然成為大家在獄中維持秩序及控制生活的一種物質

We would actually make a humongous spread.

「我們甚至會準備一大桌的宴席

These soups would be the equalizer for all of us to sit down and have a meal and not stress what's happening in the prison yard.

這一大鍋湯能讓我們全部圍在一起好好地吃飯，暫時不用去擔心獄中庭院又出了什麼狀況

Trade and bartering in prison isn't new, but until there are systemic changes in its food system, ramen will likely stay at the top of the prison trade economy.

以物易物在獄中不足為奇，但直到在獄中餐食供應系統有什麼大改變之前，泡麵大概還會是獄中經濟中最有價值的物品

Simply because food is a basic need.

因為食物是一個基本需求

And ramen is a basic solution.

而「泡麵」則是一個最基本的解決方式