Menu: Porridge or egg soldiers

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Those serving their country will soon be tucking into the same rations as those who are serving time.

Government officials have called for expressions of interest in the contract to supply food to both prisons and defence facilities and ships.

But while the raw ingredients may be the same, prisoners and soldiers can expect to be eating very different fare.

Food in prisons is cooked by inmates under supervision at a cost of about $4.50 a day.

Menus for three daily meals are based on Ministry of Health food and nutrition guidelines, but former prisoner Tim Selwyn said standards varied widely. Selwyn, who was jailed for sedition in 2006, said he once encountered a moth in his cabbage and "chomped through something I thought was a piece of carpet in the stew".

A NZ Army spokesman said menus for soldiers differed from camp to camp and were sometimes provided by private catering companies. The food provided can depend on rank, and some personnel pay for meals at a subsidised rate.

But army chefs have won national awards for their skills, and are national title holders in the Nestle Torque d'Or award, a competition for hospitality students.

The NZ Army website reveals soldiers in Afghanistan wake up to a breakfast of bacon, sausages, eggs, hash browns and baked beans.