Corrections staff are turning to food banks as the fuel crisis takes its toll, the Corrections union says.

While some prisons, such as Auckland's Mt Eden, were located close to a main centre, many prisons including Wellington's Rimutaka Prison, Christchurch Men's and Waikeria were further away from where staff lived.

The Corrections Association had written to department management with suggestions that would help staff, including a travel subsidy, a van pickup system to collect staff for work and allowing non-custodial staff to work from home.

The association's president Floyd du Plessis said the average commute for workers was 45 minutes, but some were travelling up to two-and-a-half hours for work.

"Just like everyone else out there, they're really struggling, everything's tight, the fuel crisis has made it worse."

Prisons weren't often built near areas where people lived and worked, he said, and even with Auckland's Mt Eden, with the pay staff received most could not afford to live anywhere close to…