Hopkins County, KY – Families of state prison inmates, prison employees and inmates themselves are not happy with the quality or quantity of prison food, says State Rep. Brent Yonts, and he believes privatization of inmate food service is the problem.

Yonts, D-Greenville, has filed a bill for consideration during the 2010 Kentucky General Assembly that would cancel the Kentucky Department of Corrections’ nearly $12 million food service contract with Aramark Services and prohibit privatization of inmate food service in Kentucky’s state-operated prisons. Food service at the prisons would be taken over by the state, which provided food at state-operated prisons until the service was privatized by the Fletcher administration.

Only state employees, volunteers or inmates could provide food service under Yonts’ bill, which would not affect canteens, local jails, private prisons, food given to inmates who are not on state prison grounds, food given to an inmate by visitors or by those operating recreational, educational or religious programs in the prison.

State Corrections officials say inmates are fed at a cost of $2.63 a day under Pennsylvania-based Aramark, saving the state $5 million a year. But while Aramark says its low-cost meals are nutritious, news reports show that inmates do not like the quality or quantity of food provided by the company.

A Sept. 9 article in the Lexington Herald-Leader said Northpoint Training Center inmates and their family members claim Aramark’s food quality and the cost of canteen products at the Boyle County prison is a “source of unrest at the prison” and might have contributed to inmate rioting that damaged several Northpoint buildings last month. Aramark has disputed the claim by Northpoint inmates and their families that its food service could have contributed to the August riot. Meanwhile, the cause of the riots is still under investigation by the State Police and Department of Corrections.

Inmates can buy food at prison canteens, Yonts said, but not all inmates have money to do so. “About 20 percent of prisoners or more do not receive money from their families to buy canteen food, which some say is high priced,” said Yonts.

Yonts’ concern with Aramark goes beyond the taste and quantity of its food. He is also concerned that the food was a contributing factor in widespread illness affecting at least 300 inmates at one Western Kentucky prison. He has also heard from workers at another prison that large worms were found in soup served to some prisoners. In another case, he said, bugs were found in salads. A grand jury in one county has recommended deprivatization of the food service due to the quality of the food, he said. A lawsuit by inmates was filed in that county alleging that human feces were located in burritos served to inmates.

Comments have been received from prison workers who no longer will eat the meals provided by Aramark. Yonts said guards have said shortages of food have contributed to discipline problems, and supplies such as butter and water were added to food lines to add caloric content and volume. Further, a common complaint is that most meat served is some form of turkey.

“A survey I distributed to Correctional officers around the state indicates that there are problems with food quality and safety and even some food shortages in our state-operated prisons,” said Yonts. “From facilities in Western Kentucky to Blackburn Correctional Complex in Fayette County and beyond, inmates and prison employees are asking for the relief this bill would provide.”

Anyone who would like to comment on Yonts’ proposal or is aware of problems with food service at Kentucky’s state-operated prisons can contact Yonts by writing to: Rep. Brent Yonts, State Capitol Annex, Room 366A, Frankfort, KY  40601.

Press release submitted by Rebecca Mullins, KY Legislature Assistant Public Information Officer on 9/23/09.