A recent ruling by a federal judge will make it easier for Jewish inmates in Florida state prisons to keep kosher, reversing what has been perceived as a longstanding injustice.

“This is a great day for justice and religious freedom—a turn of events we have long anticipated,” said Rabbi Menachem Katz, director of prison and military outreach at the Florida-based Aleph Institute. “It has been over two decades that we have been advocating for the rights of inmates wishing to adhere to the kosher dietary laws, and we heartily applaud this breakthrough.”

The 32-year-old Aleph Institute serves the needs of both incarcerated Jews and those in uniform. Their services range from sending holiday kits and other religious supplies to pastoral guidance. Aleph staff regularly visit 500 prisons nationwide, some as often as once a week.

While a limited pilot program has been in place in Union Correctional Institution, 45 miles southwest of Jacksonville, Fla., the new ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Patricia Seitz will require the Florida Department of Corrections to extend the program to “all prisoners with a sincere religious basis for keeping kosher” by July 1, 2014.

According to Katz, Florida—where approximately 400 Jewish people are currently incarcerated—is the only state with such a sizable Jewish prison population not to offer kosher meals. Florida currently has the third largest Jewish population in America.

Katz says that besides those fortunate enough to be part of the pilot program at Union, many prisoners, whom he refers to as “my congregants,” have been making due with limited kosher staples for sale at prison commissaries.

In addition to mandating that the program be extended to other prisons, the judge also significantly reduced the restrictions on who is to be deemed eligible for the special meals. Under the new ruling, inmates will no longer be subject to a 90-day waiting period and a test to determine familiarity with kashrut before being added to the plan. Neither will they be removed from the plan if they are found to eat less than 90 percent of their food or if they are found to also eat food that is not kosher.

The ruling was a preliminary injunction issued prior to a trial set for Aug. 25, in which the U.S. Department of Justice is suing the state of Florida for violating the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000. That law requires states and the Federal government to meet the religious requirements of prisoners. Florida first argued in 2006 that do so would be too costly, but in January of this year agreed to provide kosher food in certain circumstances to inmates, while continuing to litigate the issues. The recent ruling indicated that the state was dragging its heels even on that commitment in an ongoing violation of the rights of Jewish inmates.

“Even before the trial, the judge sent a very strong message,” Katz said, “We live in the United States of America in the 21st century, and religious rights should be respected.”