Cost Of Jail Food Rising...

Outside of staffing, feeding inmates is a third of budget
By Janelle Stecklein
Stephen Spillman / Amarillo Globe-News

Cindy Barnes stacks lunch trays as they come off the assembly line in the Randall County Jail kitchen. As budget gobblers go, food costs are second only to the costs associated with personnel.
     
After deciding he needed a break from the fast-paced world of restaurant life, Mitch Michel accepted a job that landed him behind bars.

While working in the Potter County Detention Center as a food supervisor isn't a job many graduates of the Culinary Arts School of New York would seek, Michel has found supervising the preparation of hundreds of thousands of meals a year more relaxing than being executive chef of an upscale restaurant.

"It's a whole different audience," he said. And much less picky.

"One of the three times a day (inmates) have something to look forward to is meal time," Lt. Ken Dougherty said.

But the tab for jail meals continues to rise each year. Today, it makes up about 30 percent of Potter and Randall counties' jail budgets if personnel isn't included. Add to this is that state regulations make it nearly impossible for jails to cut costs.

"When fuel costs went up, grocery costs went up," Randall County Sheriff Joel Richardson said.

Richardson said he's seen the cost of feeding inmates rise from about 80 cents five or six years ago to the current rate of about 95 cents per meal.

This year, Randall County Jail has doled out about 261,000 meals, he said. By the end of the fiscal year, the county expects to spend at least $333,000 feeding inmates. That's compared with roughly $226,000 spent in 2003.

In Potter County, each meal goes for 85.3 cents - up about 3 cents from the previous year, said county Purchasing Agent Sharon Page. The increase comes as part of a contractual agreement that allows the jail's food vendor to increase the cost of food based on the Consumer Price Index. The company also pays Michel's salary as part of a three-year contract with Potter County.

By the end of the fiscal year, Potter County officials expect to pay close to $462,000 for inmate food and serve about 547,500 meals. In 2003, the county paid about $433,000. For the 2009-10 fiscal year, the county expects to pay about $550,000.

In Carson County, each meal costs more than in Potter and Randall, but there are only about 18 inmates to feed each day.

"We're not able to do a bulk deal," Sheriff Tam Terry said.

Terry said he spends about $42,000 per year on jail food and serves about 19,710 meals per year. Each meal costs about $1.25, he said. Supplies are purchased from a grocery store in Carson County.

Terry, who also serves on the Texas Commission on Jail Standards, said jail food doesn't have to be complex, just meet the minimum requirements.

Inmates there get cereal for breakfast, a bologna sandwich and fruit for lunch, and a microwavable meal for dinner. It's pretty much the same menu every day, except occasionally other items such as beans are served.

"When an inspector comes in you have to show them where within the last calendar year a dietician has approved your menu," he said.

He said inmates complain, but that's to be expected.

"Of course everybody complains about the jail food," he said. "But I don't get as many complaints."

The price of inmate fare may seem steep, but county officials say state regulations don't allow jails to cut corners.

"Our inmates eat pretty well here," Randall Capt. Debbie Unruh said. "We learned a long time ago that keeping them happy keeps the problems down."

The TCJS requires inmates be fed at least three times a day, and meals must meet basic nutrition requirements. Each meal must be approved by a licensed dietician. Jails must honor doctors' dietary orders. On top of that, jails are like any other area restaurant in that they are subject to periodic checks by local food inspectors.

Adan Munoz, executive director of the TCJS, said the agency's inspectors make sure jails meet requirements and follow up on inmate complaints as a second safeguard against violations.

"We don't actually taste the food," Munoz said. "We check the nutritional (value)."

The biggest complaints that come with the 2,700-calorie meals served in Potter is the size of the portions. Inmates always want more, Michel said.

"We do our best," Dougherty said. "You can have issues if you start putting out horrible food. It does make things a lot easier if they enjoy the food to a certain extent."