Adams County Jail Will Feed Itself
Adams County PA will soon get into the culinary business – in jail. Starting in June, the county will be providing its own food service at Adams County Prison. The current contractor, Aramark Food Services, chose to cancel its contract with the county effective June 18, as reported by the Hanover Evening Sun.
County Solicitor John Hartzell said the contract allowed for Aramark to choose not to renew with 90 days notice. The contractor planned on raising its rates by 25 cents per meal per prisoner, about a 5 percent increase. The county did not agree with the rate hike, believing they could do the job cheaper, or at least at the same cost as the contractor prior to the hike, Commissioner George Weikert said. Commissioners also said prison officials were not happy with the quality of the food served by Aramark …
Commissioner Glenn Snyder said some of the cost will be curtailed with the county in control because the county can use vegetables grown in the prison’s new garden. Vegetables from the garden were used last year, but there was no reduction in the contractor’s cost. Weikert said that prisoner-maintained garden should yield more this year because it will be bigger, and will have better-quality soil …
Prior to the proposed rate increase, the contract was priced depending on the number of inmates. For example, at 151 to 160 prisoners, the cost was $1.58 per meal. It lowered in steps, such as to $1.37 per meal for 200 to 210 inmates and was $1.20 for 300 to 310 inmates.