GOP budget calls for privatizing prison food service

House Republicans say privatizing prison food service will save the state millions of dollars every year, but similar plans in other states show that this can only be achieved by lowering the quality and nutrition content of the food being served.

The House GOP’s recently released budget proposal says that a state Auditor General report indicates that Michigan could save $38 million a year by contracting out food service at the state’s prisons

That 2008 evaluation of the state prison food service program concluded that MDOC’s current efforts to manage food service costs were “moderately effective,” but urged the MDOC to look to the experience of other states and one county in Michigan and consider privatizing the food service in prisons entirely.

The report noted that the prison systems of Florida and Kansas and Michigan’s Oakland County Jail have reduced food service costs through contracts with food service giant Aramark and suggested that Michigan look into doing the same.

“DOC should analyze the potential outcomes of hiring a private contractor to provide prisoner meals at its correctional facilities, ” the report stated.

The Michigan Dept. of Corrections responded to that report by pointing out that Florida, Kansas and Oakland County do not follow the National Academy of Sciences Dietary Guidelines for Americans or the Food Pyramid.

MDOC said that its is not fair to compare Michigan to states that allow vendors to meet nutritional requirements by adding vitamin powders to artificial foods and drink.

“Artificial beverages and products costs substantially less than natural foods but do not have the same positive impact on the long term health of individual as natural food. According to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, “Nutrient needs should be met primarily through consuming foods. Foods provide an array of nutrients and other compounds that may have beneficial effects on health … dietary supplements, while recommended in some cases, cannot replace a healthful diet.”

MDOC contends that when compared to states that follow the same nutritional guidelines Michigan’s costs are below average.

MDOC spokesman John Cordell said that the current cost of food service in the state prisons is about $2.60 per day per prisoner. “We feed 45,000 prisoners three meals a day and have very few issues with quality, amount, or unrighteousness,” he said. “[MDOC employees] do a great job and keep costs to a minimum.”

Undermining the nutritional content of inmates’ diets could even end up increasing costs. Noting that the state is responsible not only for the feeding of prisoners but also their medical care, and that the average minimum term is approximately eight years with almost 5,000 prisoners serving life sentences, MDOC said, “it is less costly to properly feed prisoners than to treat chronic illnesses.”

The agency also said that prison food service privatization has already been tried in the state system and has failed.

“We had a contract with Marriot to provide food service delivery to one of our prisons in SE Mich,” Cordell said, “and the cost escalated to a point where it was a little over 15 dollars per prisoner per day. We can do it for much lower than that.”

MDOC also warns that privatization could have a negative impact on the state’s agricultural sector. The department notes that in in fiscal 2007 they spent $43 million on food from Michigan farms and businesses.

A look at the record in the states cited by the audit report as models for Michigan suggests that the privatization plans in those states ultimately did not function as expected.

Just months after this 2008 report, Aramark ended its contract with Florida amidst a state audit that found that fewer prisoners ate the meals served by Aramark and the decreased feed rate was not reflected in the rates charged by the vendor. The Florida audit also found that the company substituted cheaper ingredients for the one approved as part of the meal plan, the company was unable to provide the same meal to all prisoners and sometimes ran out of food before all were served.

In Kentucky prison officials blame Aramark’s poor food service for an Aug. 21, 2009 riot that damaged 6 buildings and “caused a fiery melee.” Legislators there are noting the documented problems with Florida’s privatized food service and are considering ending the state contract with Aramark.

Aramark has spent a more than $460,000 on lobbying in Michigan between 2007-2009 according to filings with the Secretary of States Office.