County may be able to trim jail food costs
NORWICH – A new food delivery service for inmates and corrections staff at the Chenango County Public Safety Facility could cut meal costs by nearly 50 percent, Chenango County Sheriff Thomas J. Loughren said.
Following a recent tour of New York State’s Food Production Center in Rome, the Sheriff told supervisors last week that he was “impressed” by the quality and low cost of the food items available.
Loughren had originally doubted whether the service would actually cut what he said was the county’s already low price per meal. The county’s cost has been about $4 for three meals per day versus the state’s average of $5 a day.
The food production center currently serves 62,000 inmates at all of the state’s correctional facilities with more than 83 million pounds of food and drink annually. The center began serving county jail populations just this year.
Prices for individual food items available through the potential new vendor represent “a substantial savings,” Loughren said.
Loughren said the Public Safety Facilities kitchen and staff would still be utilized to cook and prepare the state provider’s ‘cook and chill’ meals, but signing on with the service could eventually result in less staff.
“The food preparation is less labor intensive,” he said.
The Public Safety Facility’s kitchen is used to prepare daily meals for approximately 80 jail and 55 corrections staff and about 71,000 home delivered meals annually for the Chenango County Area Agency on Aging’s 60 Plus program. Loughren said the Rome-based food service “would meet all of Agency’s requirements.”
“They can handle special food requests. It is sometimes difficult for us to provide religious and other dietary-specific meals,” Loughren said.
The change could take place in three months.
Like many other affiliates in the county, such as Headstart, Preston Manor and CWS, the Public Safety Facility currently has an annual contract for food and milk with DCMO-BOCES. The contract is up for renewal in July. BOCES Purchasing Department Director Deb Bestwich said loosing the Public Safety Facility could affect quantities going out on the food bid which could in turn affect pricing.
Following a recent tour of New York State’s Food Production Center in Rome, the Sheriff told supervisors last week that he was “impressed” by the quality and low cost of the food items available.
Loughren had originally doubted whether the service would actually cut what he said was the county’s already low price per meal. The county’s cost has been about $4 for three meals per day versus the state’s average of $5 a day.
The food production center currently serves 62,000 inmates at all of the state’s correctional facilities with more than 83 million pounds of food and drink annually. The center began serving county jail populations just this year.
Prices for individual food items available through the potential new vendor represent “a substantial savings,” Loughren said.
Loughren said the Public Safety Facilities kitchen and staff would still be utilized to cook and prepare the state provider’s ‘cook and chill’ meals, but signing on with the service could eventually result in less staff.
“The food preparation is less labor intensive,” he said.
The Public Safety Facility’s kitchen is used to prepare daily meals for approximately 80 jail and 55 corrections staff and about 71,000 home delivered meals annually for the Chenango County Area Agency on Aging’s 60 Plus program. Loughren said the Rome-based food service “would meet all of Agency’s requirements.”
“They can handle special food requests. It is sometimes difficult for us to provide religious and other dietary-specific meals,” Loughren said.
The change could take place in three months.
Like many other affiliates in the county, such as Headstart, Preston Manor and CWS, the Public Safety Facility currently has an annual contract for food and milk with DCMO-BOCES. The contract is up for renewal in July. BOCES Purchasing Department Director Deb Bestwich said loosing the Public Safety Facility could affect quantities going out on the food bid which could in turn affect pricing.
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