Meals costs rising 5.8% at Richland County Jail

The nationwide, pandemic-related inflationary spike in food costs has hit the Richland County corrections system. County commissioners voted on Thursday to approve a one-year contract renewal with Trinity Services Group Inc. of Oldsmar, Florida, that calls for a 5.8% price increase effective March 1.

Trinity manages food services for the Richland County Jail and the Community Alternative Center.

Commissioners approved a one-year contract renewal with the option of three one-year extensions with Trinity last year. That contract called for a 3.8% increase, which raised the price per meal from $1.705 to $1.77.

Thursday’s renewal sets the per meal price at $1.873 based on 601 to 650 meals per day at the jail and CAC combined. The price per meal is on a sliding scale based on the inmate population and the number of meals per day. The new sliding scale ranges from $1.53 to $2.37 per meal.

“For the next couple of years it’s not going to be pretty. It’s hitting us just like everybody else,” said Rachael Troyer, county central services administrator. “I feel bad because I don’t ever like to come and tell you that we’re increasing.”

Concerns over food service quality

Troyer was accompanied by CAC Director Tom Trittschuh, who said he wanted to make commissioners aware of a number of issues he has with the service Trinity is providing. One issue was snacks, which he said have declined from a variety each day to just a couple of items, including a cake the vendor makes which was described as “just awful.”

“Now they’re sending me apples every day. Nobody eats apples anymore,” Trittschuh said.

Trittschuh said other issues include staff turnover with replacements who are not trained in how to deal with inmates as well as things that are “irritating” to CAC staff such as being short meals and leaving containers out in the rain. He said he just wanted commissioners to be aware that not everything is “rosy” with the food service.

“I’ve spent 30 years dealing with six different companies and they all end up being the same,” Trittschuh said. “They all provide something right away when they get their contract and everything is good, then about two months later their quality drops.”

Troyer said issues with the previous food service vendor had gotten “pretty bad” but were “100% better” after Trinity initially took over. She pointed out that food service contracts are something that officials have to “babysit” through periodic meetings with the vendor to work issues out.

Jail Administrator Capt. Chris Blunk told the News Journal that his experience with vendors has been similar, including the same staffing problems that many businesses are facing. “It hasn’t been working as smoothly as it first did but we worked through issues. You always have issues in business,” he said.

Blunk noted that inmate food service grievances are up over the last three or four months but generally have remained relatively steady over the past few years with 116 last year, 95 in 2020 and 97 in 2019. Forty-two percent of the grievances last year were resolved to a point of common ground.

“They haven’t hit the level of the prior contract,” Blunk said. “The important thing is we were 100% across the board with standards when we were reviewed by the state in December.”

Officials budgeted about $520,000 for food in the jail in 2021 and around $540,000 this year. Blunk did not yet have final actual expense figures for 2021.

Blunk was not surprised by the 5.8% cost increase for the contract renewal, particularly in light of the current economy. “Plus, with the minimum wage, we’ve had a hard time maintaining kitchen staff so it didn’t surprise me,” he said. “We expected it to go up.”

Hearing set for proposed road closing

In other business, commissioners scheduled a viewing on Feb. 15 at 11:30 a.m. and a public hearing at 1:30 p.m. on the same day for the proposed closing of a portion of Possum Run Road. The section of road has not been used for general traffic since a hazardous curve was eliminated several years ago.

“There’s a mechanic’s business and the Hidden Hollow Camp that were still using the old road and have since found other ways to access these locations,” explained Commissioner Cliff Mears.

This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Richland County Jail food contract renewal includes 5.8% increase