Citing subpar meals, service, sheriff fires jail's food provider
Source: By KAREN KELLER, HERALD NEWS (NJ), Wednesday, February 22, 2006
Passaic County Jail inmate prayers -- and stomach rumblings -- have been heard. Sheriff Jerry Speziale is firing the jail's meal provider, Aramark, and inmates will take charge of the kitchen come May, Speziale spokesman Bill Maer said. "We can do it as well as them at this point," he said. The company's $1.7 million annual contract is being terminated based on poor "quality, service, attentiveness," Maer said. Jail officials haven't estimated how much they will save by cooking in-house, but the financial aspect is secondary, Maer said. Inmates said the food is cold, measly in portion size, not varied enough and served on dirty trays, forcing some to pay as much as $200 a month on prepackaged food from the jail's commissary.